Let's Look at the Farmers’ Rights Act
Photo by Edwin Remsberg
This post should not constitute legal advice or lobbying for or against this piece of legislation. The purpose of this post is to review the possible implications of proposed legislation.
When Can the Government Enter Your Farm?
Farmers are challenged daily by a variety of external factors: fluctuating markets, the unpredictability of Mother Nature, and perhaps the most challenging of all: the vast, ever changing array of local, state, and Federal laws. Every new law has the potential to bring a new government inspector out to the farm to ensure the farmer is in compliance.
Helpful Maryland Law for Stable Owner-Operators
Photo by Edwin Remsberg
A useful section of Maryland law allows the owner or operator of a stable or other establishment caring for livestock the ability to recover unpaid costs related to that care without the need to file any action in court, by enforcing a lien in that livestock.
Big Data: What’s the Big Deal?
You see it all over the Internet, local and national news stations, but what actually is “big data” and what do you need to know about it as pertains to agriculture?
Understanding Agricultural Liability: Livestock and Other Animals (FS-990)
Understanding Agricultural Liability: Livestock and Other Animals (FS-990, 2014), discusses potential liability for livestock and other animals you may have on the farm. Typical theories for liability would include strict liability and negligence. This publication walks you through previous Maryland court ca
Estate Planning for Farm Families (FS-972)
Earlier this year the Maryland General Assembly recoupled the state estate tax exemption with the federal estate tax exemption. Recoupling is tying Maryland’s state estate tax exemption back to the federal estate tax exemption something that has not happened since 2001. Over the next 5 years, Maryland’s estate tax exemption will be gradually increased in 2015 and each year after until the sta
How Do the PMT Regulations Become a Law?
We’ve decided not to do a short overview of the recently announced Phosphorus Management Tool (PMT) regulations from the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA). The feeling is another overview of the regulations would be redundant and fall on an audience who has heard enough about PMT. You’ve all heard how the regulations will potentially impact nutrien
What? More Poultry Houses?
Editor's note: As a part of our ongoing right-to-farm law series, we are happy to have Mae Johnson, Administrator, Maryland Agricultural Conflict Resolution Service (ACReS), Maryland Department of Agriculture preparing this post.
Understanding the Diverse Legal Needs of the Maryland Agricultural Community
Agriculture’s total impact on the Maryland economy was $8.25 billion in 2010, accounting for over 22,000 jobs. According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, Maryland had over 12,000 agricultural operations producing a diverse range of agricultural commodities: poultry, dairy, grain, equine, nursery, greenhouse products to name just a few.
What Do Landlords Need to Know about the Farm Bill?
Let’s talk about what decisions landlords need to consider making with the tenant, making on his/her own, or just signing a power of attorney and letting the tenant handle. Landlords will need to think about reallocating base acres, updating payment yields, and electing whether each covered commodity will participate in either USDA’s new Price Loss Coverage (PLC)