By Sarah Fielder
Article Looks at Governor Hogan’s Impact on Rural Maryland A recent Capital News Service article looks at Hogan’s impact on rural voters. The story highlights many of the concerns that rural voters and politicians have. The story is available at http://bit.ly/2ruEzfu.
North Carolina Farmer Sentenced for Dumping Manure into River A North Carolina farmer was sentenced for violating the Clean Water Act for dumping manure into the French Broad River. The farmer did not have a permit to dump the manure. The federal district court sentenced six months house arrest, $10,000 fine, and 3 years probation. To read more, click here http://bit.ly/2sxzrFM.
First Syngenta MIR162 Trials Begins This Week The first trial in the large class action litigation involving Syngenta and claims the company should have received approval in China before marketing a new variety began this week in Kansas. For those unfamiliar with the litigation, plaintiffs claim Syngenta should have received approval in China before marketing the MIR162 varieties in the U.S. Corn shipments containing MIR162 appeared in shipments to China and the Chinese refused delivery of shipments of corn from the U.S. To read more about the first trial, click here http://bit.ly/2rNlOEr.
Pigweed, Dicamba, and Murder Highlighted in Recent NPR Podcast During the 2016 growing season, many growers in the South used a new soybean variety that was dicamba-resistant but the paired dicamba was not yet approved. Many growers sprayed the soybeans with existing dicambas and caused large amounts of drift damage. A recent episode of the NPR podcast series Planet Money looks at this issue along with the murder that resulted because of the drift issues. To listen to the podcast, click here http://n.pr/2ruVkqM.
Colorado Jury Rules Against Neighbor’s Trespass Claims Late last week a jury ruled that a Colorado poultry grower did not commit a trespass on a neighbor’s farm. The neighbor had claimed containments from the organic laying operation had trespassed on the neighbor’s property. A jury disagreed with these claims. To read more about the trial and the verdict, click here http://bit.ly/2rwwQ0p.
Federal Legislation to Address Agro-Terrorism The Securing our Agriculture and Food Act requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, to lead the government’s efforts to secure our nation’s food, agriculture, and veterinary systems against terrorism and high-risk events. See more at: https://go.umd.edu/cdf.
Maryland contributes to farm labor increase in region There were fewer hired workers employed on farms across the U.S. this year compared with 2016, but wages have gone up, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To read the full article click here: https://go.umd.edu/cdg.
Anne Arundel Seeks To Boost Agritourism County Council members are considering two bills aimed at defining and boosting agritourism, the term for activities that bring visitors onto the farm. Here is a link to the full story: https://go.umd.edu/cdd.
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Petition in Egg Case The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari challenging a California law requiring eggs sold in the state to be raised according to California standards. Six states had challenged this law claiming it violated the U.S. Constitution, but the federal courts have rejected the states’ arguments that the states can bring the challenge and not individual egg producers. The rulings leave open the possibility that individual egg producers could challenge the law. To read more about the Court’s denial click here, http://bit.ly/2rI2kiD.
Webinar-Ag Leasing 101-Termination, Lease Forms & Vital Terms: June 20, 2017, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. Tune in to hear Sarah Everhart, ALEI Senior Research Associate and Legal Specialist give an overview of the proper way to terminate this year’s farm lease and how you should form next year’s lease to protect your interests, maximum profitability and avoid legal hassles. Register here.