March 2023 Quarterly Update

This new workshop series covered basic overviews by Goeringer of negligence law, livestock liability, landowner liability, fencing law, agricultural leasing, right-to-farm law overview, and estate planning.  At the same time, solar development is a topic of interest in rural areas of the state. Thilmany presented her research looking at solar development on agricultural lands in Maryland.  

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“We often hear from agricultural producers that estate planning is something they struggle with and is a top legal concern for many of them.  But when we hold workshops or offer other outreach related to estate planning, we often get few participants.  This survey will help us consider what the needs of Maryland agricultural operations and how best to address those related to estate planning,” said Paul Goeringer, a senior faculty specialist and Extension specialist in agricultural law with the University of Maryland.  

Goeringer encourages all agricultural operators and those working with agricultural operators to participate in the survey.  “The more results we get the better we will be able to understand the needs in this topic.  We will be able to develop better programming that fits needs in this area.” The information gathered will help Extension develop new resources and tools to support agricultural operations as they consider estate and succession planning. Participation is voluntary and confidential. Anyone that completes a survey will be given the option to enter a raffle for 1 of 8 $50 gift cards.  Funding for the gift cards was provided by Horizons Farm Credit.

If you are interested in participating, please visit this website to complete the survey: Click here  We anticipate the survey will take 30 to 45 minutes.

For more information, contact Paul Goeringer (lgoering@umd.edu).

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In December, 2022, ALEI team members Sarah Everhart and Margaret Todd completed Adding Value to Specialty Crops: Regulatory Decision Trees for Maryland Producers. Everhart and Todd have already presented on the topic during the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Small Farms Conference on November 5, 2022, the Future Harvest CASA Conference on January 14, 2023, and the University of Maryland Extension (UMES) Winter Vegetable Meeting.

The format of the resource will allow growers to quickly identify application and facility requirements if a food establishment license is required, based upon a number of critical factors, including the type of product they want to make, where the food is to be produced, intended sales venues, and annual gross sales amounts.

Another part of the project funded through the SCBG is a Pilot Food Lab, hosted by partners at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Extension (UMES), will also offer a limited number of free tests for pH (an indicator of the acidity of a product) and the water activity (the amount of available water in a product). These two parameters are critical standards that help the Health Department know whether the food item is safe for sale. You can sign up to receive a copy of the publication online at https://forms.gle/cganx5i51EpYrZCf9. If you are interested in taking advantage of the UMES Small Farms Pilot Food Lab sample testing for either pH or water activity, indicate your interest on the form and we will provide further detail via email.

In Spring 2023, the ALEI web page for Direct Marketing will be updated to add related content and resources to help growers locate business planning resources, and include an online version of the Regulatory Decision Trees that will enable users to save and print their individual results. Questions regarding the regulation decision trees for value-added specialty crop producers may be directed to Megan Todd (motodd@law.umaryland.edu) or Sarah Everhart (severhart@law.umaryland.edu).

This project was supported by the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture through grant. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.

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The webinars will feature Paul Goeringer, a Senior Faculty Specialist and Extension Specialist in agricultural law.  He will address leasing, landowner liability issues, right-to-farm law, fencing laws, livestock liability, and estate planning.  As well as additional feature speakers Tim Bishton with Crow Insurance Agency, Stephanie Brophy with Dulany Leahy Curtis & Brophy LLP, and Brooke Schumm with Levin Gann, P.A.

“These webinars will be a great opportunity for landowners and other professionals in rural areas to learn about some of the basic legal issues that many deal with daily.  They can understand their rights and responsibilities whether they are involved in agriculture or own land in a rural area,” said Goeringer.

Each webinar will begin at 12:00 pm and run to 1:30 pm.  The dates and topics are:

• March 31st- Negligence, Livestock, and Guests on Farmland
• April 7th- Fencing and Right to Farm
• April 14- Agricultural Leasing
• April 21- Understanding Insurance
• April 28- Working with an Ag Law Attorney

 Participants will receive copies of Extension fact sheets and other valuable documents as a part of the workshop series.
To register, Click Here.  For more information, please get in touch with Paul Goeringer at lgoering@umd.edu.

This is material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021‐70027‐34693.

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