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Agritourism Operations and Liability Concerns this Fall Season

Agritourism operation-pumpkin patch
Mastering Marketing - July 2020 With so many concerns for the Fall agritourism season, here is an informative podcast that helps outline how to mediate some of the risks of hosting events this Fall season. While Marylanders must follow Governor Hogan’s mandates about group gatherings, staying...

Health insurance

Urban Ag home | Table of contents Finding and paying for health insurance and health care is an enormous challenge for entrepreneurs. Many farmers say that getting health insurance coverage for their family is the primary motivation for someone in the family working off-farm. A national survey of...

Crop insurance

Urban Ag home | Table of contents Crop insurance protects against either the loss of crops due to natural disasters or the loss of revenue due to declines in the prices of agricultural commodities. It is federally supported and is sold and serviced by certain approved private-sector crop insurance...

Harvest, post-harvest storage, and food safety

Urban Ag home | Table of contents How you harvest your crops and how you store them until your customers purchase them has an important impact on the quality of your product and on food safety risk management. For most vegetables and fruits, especially leafy greens and herbs, harvesting first thing...

Soil contamination assessment and risk management

Urban Ag home | Table of contents This topic brings up a lot of fear and strong emotions, which makes it extra important to make decisions using good information about how soil contamination works and about your specific situation. What are soil contaminants? Most contaminants of soil that might...

Production topics to learn more about

Urban Ag home | Table of contents Across production systems, there are several important urban production topics a grower will need to learn about and consider in their risk management planning: Urban soils and growing media Soil contamination assessment and risk management Nutrient management Crop...

What does success look like for you? Setting goals for your urban farm

Urban Ag home | Table of contents Having clear, concise, prioritized goals is the foundation of success. If you don’t know where you want to go, you will not get there. Having clear goals is also a necessary pre-requisite to risk management. There is no one right way to be an urban farmer, no one...

Looking for a lawyer or insurance agent? Here are two lists that can help you find one who understands farms.

Looking for a lawyer or insurance agent? Here are two lists that can help you find one who understands farms. Neith Little Urban Agriculture Extension Agent, University of Maryland First, read enough to know what questions to ask. The UMD Agriculture Law Education Initiative is a great place to...

Supplemental Coverage Option Expanding as Part of the Farm Safety Net

Photo by Edwin Remsberg The 2014 Farm Bill created Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), a new add-on crop insurance option which provides supplemental coverage on a producer’s underlying crop insurance policy. SCO operates by mimicking a producer’s individual crop insurance coverage and covering a...

Crop Insurance For Maryland Field Crops And Livestock

Image by Edwin Remsberg Multi-peril crop insurance is a valuable risk management tool which allows you to insure against losses on your farm due to adverse weather conditions, price fluctuations, and unavoidable pests and diseases. It shifts unavoidable production risks to an insurance company for...

Federal Crop Insurance Program Expands in 2016 and 2017 to Cover More Organic Crops

Photo by Edwin Remsberg O rganic agriculture represents one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture (USDA-RMA). With this in mind, the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) continues to expand crop insurance options for organic growers. In 2016 and 2017, organic producers in Maryland will...

How do CSA Operators Manage Risks In Their Operations?

CSA operators utilize various methods to manage risks in their operations. One way can be through the membership agreement, but other ways can be utlized. Recently, a report was issued by Mayhah R. Suri and Paul Goeringer discussing the results of the work done by the Department of Agricultural and...

How to Handle Crop Insurance Proceeds and Farm Program Payments on Your Taxes

Photo by Edwin Remsberg This post should not be construed as tax advice Tax season is upon us and hopefully you have taken all your documents to your accountant. In 2015, some of you may have received an Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) County payment or a Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payment,...

Poultry Growers Will Have to Wait a Little Longer for Crop Insurance Coverage

Photo By Edwin Remsberg Early in January, poultry growers got bad news that high pathogen avian influenza (HPAI) was back again this time in a turkey flock in Indiana. This brings back concerns that HPAI could hit the Delmarva area later this year. With poultry growers once again concerned about...

2014 Farm Bill Makes Changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program

The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) was established in 1994 and administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). NAP is a risk management tool for those producers growing crops not currently covered by a crop insurance product. NAP now offers coverage from the 50-percent level to...

Updated: Quick Look at Yield Exclusion Option in 2014 Farm Bill

Photo by Edwin Remsberg Recently USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced eligible years for barley and wheat for Yield Exclusion (YE). YE allows producers to exclude specific yields from eligible years from their actual production histories (APH). This exclusion can have an impact on...

Understanding Agricultural Liability: Legal Risk Management Considerations

This fact sheet can serve as another tool in a farmer’s risk management plans by providing information on how farmers can protect themselves from legal challenges from a nuisance or violation of an environmental permit. The information discussed in this fact sheet will not eliminate threats of...

Quick Look at Yield Exclusion Option in 2014 Farm Bill

Photo by Edwin Remsberg, MDA One new option for crop insurance in the 2014 Farm Bill is Yield Exclusion (YE). YE allows for producers to exclude specific yields from eligible years from their actual production histories (APH). This exclusion can have an impact on producers’ APHs and crop insurance...

New Beginning Producer Crop Insurance Benefits From 2014 Farm Bill

Photo by Edwin Remsberg, MDA I have previously highlighted the beginning farmer benefits in the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP); see 2014 Farm Bill Makes Changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program . But the 2014 Farm Bill also contains new beginning producer...

New Crop Insurance Option for Diversified Operations: Whole Farm Revenue Protection

The 2014 Farm Bill authorized USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) to develop a new type of revenue insurance product, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP). WFRP provides a risk management tool for all commodities on farms with up to $8.5 million in insured revenue. WFRP is not intended for one...

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