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Income taxes for for-profit businesses

Urban Ag home | Table of contents An owner of an LLC pays taxes just as a sole proprietor does: all profit is considered personal income and taxed accordingly at the end of the year. Generally, a business owner will want to avoid double taxation in the early stages. The LLC structure prevents that...

Choice of business entity structure

Urban Ag home | Table of contents How you choose to structure your farm operation is an important risk management decision. But, choosing isn’t always easy. There are several types of business entities, each with its own pros and cons, and states have different requirements for different business...

I want to start a farm. Where should I start?

University of Maryland Extension has a website devoted to supporting beginning farmers . Within that website, I would suggest starting with the Beginning Farmer Success Guidebook and the Starting a Farm Enterprise in Maryland Checklist. UMD Extension also offer several multi-week in-person...

Management Tool of Last Resort: Bankruptcy Offers Protections to Qualifying Agricultural Operations and Fishermen to Restructure Business and Survive Tough Economic Times

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Agriculture like many businesses is full of risks: marketing, financial, production, labor, and legal risks. With each risk area, producers must develop strategies to manage those risks. To manage marketing risks, for example, a producer would develop a plan for how to handle crops grown over the...

Ensuring the Continued Viability of Rural Communities: Using Mediation to Settle Disputes

Mediation, a form of alternative dispute resolution, has considerable advantages over litigation in terms of relationships among parties, finances, and time. Mediation can be a useful alternative to expensive litigation for many disputes. It encourages individuals to take responsibility for their...

Using a Business Organization Structure to Limit Your Farm's Liability

In Maryland, 82.7 percent of agricultural operations conduct business as sole proprietorships (Census of Agriculture, 2012). As agriculture continues to evolve, however, producers should consider investigating all types of business organization structures for their operations to limit liability and...

Understanding Agricultural Liability: Premise's Liability

You can take steps to limit your potential liability by understanding your legal obligation or duty to protect visitors and other third parties from foreseeable harm. You also will need to know to whom you owe the duty and what duty others may owe to you. Steps you can take to limit your liability...

Legal Liability of Saving Seeds in an Era of Expiring Patents

2014 marked the expiration of Monsanto’s patent on the first generation Round-up Ready technology. But, this expiration does not mean that farmers using seed from first generation Roundup Ready technology will be able to save harvested seed for planting a subsequent crop. Many seed companies...

Considerations for Equine Lease Agreements

Offering a horse for lease can be a good option for an owner who is unable to ride or care for their horse due to physical, time, or financial constraints but still wishes to maintain ownership. A lease can be an alternative to selling the horse, a way to cut maintenance costs, or an avenue to...

Protecting the Family Farm in Divorce

Divorce can be financially devastating for a family farm. Protecting the family farm from divorce is possible if farmers plan ahead with a valid prenuptial agreement, understand the legal parameters of marital vs. non-marital property, limit bequests to family members, and are able to come to a...

Partnerships Need a Plan for Winding Down Affairs

Photo by Edwin Remsberg This post is not legal advice Earlier, I posted on family limited partnerships , I'm continuing the theme today with what happens when a general partner passes away. For example, father and son start a general partnership to run the farm. This partnership will continue till...

Family Limited Partnership as a Business Structure?

Photo by Edwin Remsberg This post is not legal advice I’ve written about limited partnerships as a business structure previously, but let's review. A limited partnership is made up of at least one general partner and one or more limited partners. General partners manage the business and take all...

Landowners Need to do Background Research Before Entering Into a Solar Energy Lease

Image by Edwin Remsberg This post is not legal advice Solar energy developers have begun approaching farmers and other landowners in the Mid-Atlantic region to lease land for large-scale solar energy projects. These projects typically require, on average, 7 acres to produce a megawatt of...

Farming: Pencil to Plow Course Graduates

On-Farm Breweries Are a Growing Agritourism Area, But Keep In Mind Legal Requirements

Recently, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to allow for the development of on-farm breweries. This area of the law (at least in Maryland) is still new and developing as it relates to breweries. For those considering developing an on-farm brewery, a fact sheet, Microbreweries and the...

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...

Understanding Agricultural Liability: Premise’s Liability

Y ou face many risks in your farming operation, including weather, crop prices, and environmental issues beyond your control. If you own or lease farmland, you also may encounter the liability risks associated with individuals coming on to your land, whether invited or not. You can take steps to...

Legal Issues in Animal Agriculture: Understanding Ag Gag Laws

Image by Edwin Remsberg A recent federal court ruling in Idaho has brought the debate over so-called “ag gag” laws to a head in many areas of the country. But what does it mean for attorneys, agricultural service professionals, educators and producers? On November 5th, the Agricultural Law...

Privacy Issues and the Use of sUAS/Drones in Maryland

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the lawful use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), also known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or more commonly as drones, are currently limited to military, research, and recreational applications. Under the FAA’s view, commercial uses of...

Legal Developments in Animal Agriculture

Photo by Edwin Remsberg 2015 has seen many legal developments in animal agriculture. We have seen one federal district court hold manure when applied inexcess to be a solid waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. We have seen groups push to have the animal agriculture exemption...

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