#ALEI

Two people talking at a table. Image by Edwin Remsberg

Image contains details about Maryland Farming Success and an image of harvested crop land with farm buildings in the background. Image by Edwin Remsberge

Harvesting crops with combine by Edwin Remsberg.jpg

Crop being hand harvested by Edwin Remsberg.jpg

Image of two people talking in front of a hoop house by Edwin Remsberg.jpg

Please sign up to receive email updates of new content (your email will be kept private and not sold). If you do sign up, you will get an email to confirm your email address that may end up in your junk mail folder. Email updates will not start till you confirm your email.

If you have issues or thoughts on topics that should address, click here to send them.

Note: This website is intended to provide general information about legal issues, crop insurance, farm policy, and other risk management issues and should not be construed as providing legal advice. It should not be cited or relied upon as legal authority. For advice about how the issues discussed here might apply to your individual situation, you should consult an attorney.

Welcome to the Maryland Risk Management Education Blog, provided by the University of Maryland Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and features the work of the Maryland Crop Insurance Education program and the University of Maryland - MPowering the State's Agriculture Law Education Initiative, a University of Maryland Extension Signature Program. This blog provides readers with information on risk management issues important to Maryland agriculture, upcoming events, and new materials that may interest readers.

MAY 4, 2020 UPDATE: SBA has opened the EIDL application web portal for farmers and ranchers

Nicole Cook

Apr 28, 2020
7 min

MAY 4, 2020 UPDATE: SBA has opened the EIDL application web portal for farmers and ranchers

By Nicole Cook This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. May 4, 2020: SBA is now accepting new Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance applications on a limited basis only to provide relief to U.S. agricultural businesses. See below for links to the application site and a useful online tutorial about the application forms. Information from the April 28th blog post about the EIDL programs is also below. The ap

37 views1 comment

Fed. District Court Dismisses Claims That USDA Violated Law in Granting Loan Guarantee to MD Poultry

Paul Goeringer

Apr 21, 2020
5 min

Fed. District Court Dismisses Claims That USDA Violated Law in Granting Loan Guarantee to MD Poultry

The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In 2017, Food and Water Watch (FWW) challenged the approval of a loan guarantee by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). FWW argued that FSA had violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in reviewing the environmental impacts of a proposed poultry farm seeking USDA loan guarantees. Recently, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed all the NEPA claim

22 views0 comments

Sarah Everhart

Apr 20, 2020
4 min

COVID-19 & the H-2A Visa Worker Program

By Sarah Everhart This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many temporary changes to the H-2A program. This post summarizes the recent changes meant to provide relief to farm employers who are facing labor shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 17, 2020, due to COVID-19, the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Office (DOS) announced that all routine immigrant a

66 views0 comments

Changing Your Marketing Due to COVID-19? Don’t Forget About the Produce Safety Rule

Sarah Everhart

Apr 14, 2020
3 min

Changing Your Marketing Due to COVID-19? Don’t Forget About the Produce Safety Rule

By Sarah Everhart This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced many produce growers to quickly adopt new marketing strategies and/or consider new ways to get their produce to consumers. Given these recent marketing pivots, I thought it would be a good time to review the importance of tracking, for the purposes of the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule (PSR),

2 views0 comments

COVID-19 & Paid Sick Leave for Agricultural Employees

Sarah Everhart

Apr 14, 2020
6 min

COVID-19 & Paid Sick Leave for Agricultural Employees

By Sarah Everhart This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about countless changes to the way we live, work, and play and one change that agricultural employers need to take note of is the new legal requirement, in certain circumstances, to provide workers with paid sick leave. The recently passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires employers to provide paid leave throu

123 views0 comments

Force Majeure Clauses: What Are They and Do They Apply in Issues Caused by COVID19?

Paul Goeringer

Apr 10, 2020
6 min

Force Majeure Clauses: What Are They and Do They Apply in Issues Caused by COVID19?

By Paul Goeringer, Elizabeth Thilmany, and Mayhah Suri This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. A print-friendly version of this article is available here. 2020 has been a challenging year with the global economic shutdown from COVID-19 leading to disruptions in many industries. Agriculture has had its fair share of disruptions from this global pandemic. Such disruptions have raised questions for many of you about your contracts t

273 views0 comments

Nicole Cook

Apr 7, 2020
5 min

Insurance Coverage and COVID-19

By Nicole Cook This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Insurance might be the last thing you’re thinking about right now as you scramble to figure out how to cope with the impacts of COVID-19. But now is exactly when you need to be doing all you can to put your farming operation in the strongest position possible to maximize any potential insurance recovery. This is especially true if federal or state assistance is not a

21 views1 comment

Worried About Paying Your Workers? Consider the Paycheck Protection Program

Sarah Everhart

Apr 2, 2020
2 min

Worried About Paying Your Workers? Consider the Paycheck Protection Program

By Sarah Everhart This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many business owners are concerned about not being able to continue to pay their employees. The recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) contains a forgivable loan program meant to provide employers the financial assistance they need to retain their workforce entitled the Paycheck Protection Program (th

4 views0 comments

Frequently Asked Questions: Paul, My Farm Dog Barks a Lot and the Neighbors Complain

Paul Goeringer

Mar 31, 2020
3 min

Frequently Asked Questions: Paul, My Farm Dog Barks a Lot and the Neighbors Complain

This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. I have gotten a few questions involving farm dogs here lately and thought I would take a moment to provide information here on the issues. If you have livestock, you may have a dog to scares away predators that might injure or kill the livestock. This dog may bark throughout the night, which may cause an issue for your neighbors. And although your neighbors may find this a nuisance, many Mar

27 views0 comments

Maryland Department of Agriculture Provides Clarity on Social Distancing For Ag Related Businesses

Sarah Everhart

Mar 24, 2020
2 min

Maryland Department of Agriculture Provides Clarity on Social Distancing For Ag Related Businesses

By Sarah Everhart This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In an effort to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic the State of Maryland has in recent weeks announced many restrictions on public gatherings and the operation of certain non-essential businesses. The various restrictions, unfortunately, caused confusion related to the operation of certain agriculture-related businesses. In an effort to clarify how the rest

11 views0 comments

Where Are My Syngenta Settlement Payments? Checks Going Out by Summer 2020 (Hopefully)

Paul Goeringer

Mar 10, 2020
2 min

Where Are My Syngenta Settlement Payments? Checks Going Out by Summer 2020 (Hopefully)

The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Several of you continue to ask me when you might see checks from the Syngenta corn seed settlement. In late 2018, the court approved the settlement order for the $1.51 billion MIR162 Syngenta settlement. Based on the final order, payments to producers should have started going out in the second quarter of 2019, but this did not happen. On January 3, 2020, the federal district court i

1,644 views0 comments

Produce Growers- Have You Requested an On-Farm Readiness Review (OFFR)?

Sarah Everhart

Mar 3, 2020
2 min

Produce Growers- Have You Requested an On-Farm Readiness Review (OFFR)?

By Sarah Everhart This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Farmers who grow produce that is often consumed raw (e.g. berries, leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.) are likely covered by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule and are required to attend a Produce Safety Rule Training and take certain steps, including but not limited to, identifying and reducing food safety risks on the farm. Although

1 view0 comments

Beekeeping Qualifies As Agricultural Use For Maryland Property Tax Assessment

Nicole Cook

Feb 25, 2020
2 min

Beekeeping Qualifies As Agricultural Use For Maryland Property Tax Assessment

By Nicole Cook This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Maryland landowners with ten or more honeybee colonies per acre of land may now be eligible to receive an agricultural use tax assessment to lower their property taxes. In October, the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation exercised its discretion and revised its policy to include beekeeping as one of the agricultural use activities that may qualify a

874 views0 comments

Federal Estate Tax and Gift Tax Limits Announced For 2020

Paul Goeringer

Feb 18, 2020
3 min

Federal Estate Tax and Gift Tax Limits Announced For 2020

This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In November 2019, the IRS announced the revised federal estate tax and gift tax limits for 2020. The federal estate tax limit rises from $11.4 million in 2019 to $11.58 million in 2020. The federal gift tax limit will remain at $15,000 in 2020. In Maryland, state estate tax limits will stay at $5 million. Federal Estate Taxes For 2020, the federal estate tax limit increases to $11.58 milli

15 views0 comments

Do You Know How To Respond to an Unemployment Insurance Claim?

Sarah Everhart

Feb 11, 2020
4 min

Do You Know How To Respond to an Unemployment Insurance Claim?

By Sarah Everhart See here for the site’s reposting policy. Although not all farm employers participate in the Maryland Unemployment Insurance program (check out this past post for farm exemption information) for those that do, it is likely that at some point a past employee will file for unemployment insurance benefits. The time frame for employers to respond to unemployment insurance claims is very tight and can get easily overlooked, especially if the notice comes in the

303 views0 comments

Nicole Cook

Feb 4, 2020
6 min

A New WOTUS

By Nicole Cook This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. There’s a new “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule. On January 23, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published the “Navigable Waters Protection Rule” defining the scope of water features that are federally regulated under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or the “Clean Water Act” (CWA) as it is more commonly

7 views0 comments

Maryland Court Rules Poultry Farm Manager Is Co-Employee of Integrator in Workers’ Compensation Case

Paul Goeringer

Jan 28, 2020
5 min

Maryland Court Rules Poultry Farm Manager Is Co-Employee of Integrator in Workers’ Compensation Case

The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, in Uninsured Employers’ Fund v. Tyson Farms, Inc., recently agreed with the Workers’ Compensation Commission that a poultry farm manager’s occupational disease disablement arose out of his co-employment to both the poultry farm owner and the poultry company, Tyson Farms, Inc. Tyson may appeal to the Court of Appeals of Maryland, but growers an

41 views0 comments

Hiring this Year? Avoid Legal Hiring Pitfalls

Sarah Everhart

Jan 21, 2020
3 min

Hiring this Year? Avoid Legal Hiring Pitfalls

By Sarah Everhart The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. If you are planning on hiring workers for the farm this year you will likely need to create a job advertisement and interview applicants. Time spent crafting job descriptions and interviewing candidates provides valuable information to both the applicant and employer by communicating each other’s expectations. This post will outline some steps you can take to avoid

3 views0 comments

Paul Goeringer

Jan 7, 2020
5 min

Top Developments in Ag Law in 2019

The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. With 2019 about over and 2020 about to start, I want to take a minute to look back at the top legal developments impacting agriculture in 2019. A few of these legal developments may seem like repeats from my 2018 update; click here to see. Moving into 2020, new issues will emerge as continued lawsuits involving pesticides, continued implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill, and possible

4 views0 comments

Have You Taken The Food Safety Training You Need?

Sarah Everhart

Dec 17, 2019
2 min

Have You Taken The Food Safety Training You Need?

By Sarah Everhart The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. There will be several Produce Safety Rule Trainings throughout the state this winter, hosted by a team of experts from the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the University of Maryland, for producers who need to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Farmers who grow produce that is often consumed raw (e.g. berries, leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers

1 view0 comments