By Sarah Fielder
Warmer Winter Causing Drought in Mid-Atlantic Region Less snow this winter in the Mid-Atlantic region is leading to drought conditions according to the National Weather Service. To learn more about drought conditions in the Washington region click here http://wapo.st/2EqbXsw.
First Organic Distillery Certified in Maryland McClintock Distilling is the first certified organic distillery in Maryland. The distillery is in Frederick and every aspect of the distilling process will be organic. To learn more about the distillery click here http://bit.ly/2GB1QC8.
EPA Sends WOTUS Delay to the White House Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 9-0 ruling that challenges to the WOTUS rule must start in the federal district courts. This ruling lifted a nationwide stay issued by the 6th Circuit when the rule went into effect. As the Trump administration works on rescinding the rule, the EPA has sent a rule to the White House that would delay the WOTUS rule from going into effect for two years. To learn more about the delay, click here http://bit.ly/2GyhVIv.
EPA Moves for Delay in CERCLA Reporting for Animal Operations EPA on Jan. 19 asked the D.C. Court of Appeals for a 90-day delay on certain livestock operations reporting ammonia emissions under CERCLA. This delay was granted and producers now have till May 1 to begin notifying EPA of their ammonia emissions. Producers did have a deadline of Jan. 22 to notify EPA that their operations might be hitting reporting quantities. To learn more about this reporting requirement, check out this fact sheet from UME, AREC, and ALEI https://go.umd.edu/EmissionsReport.
Register Now for Food Safety and Recall Readiness Webinars Running a farm with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), on-farm market and/or agritourism component has individualized food safety risks that need to be understood and addressed. This webinar series will provide information for identifying and addressing risks associated with each type of operation and give simple ideas for how risks can be prevented. In addition, on-farm recall planning and the role of regulatory agencies in a food safety emergency will be explained. This webinar series is supported by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. SARE is a program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Register here: http://bit.ly/2GtoHiG.
FDA, USDA announce formal agreement to bolster coordination and collaboration FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb and USDA Secretary Perdue launched an effort on January 30, 2018 to increase collaboration, efficiency and effectiveness, and provide clarity to food producers. Click here to read the full press release: http://bit.ly/2FwFUqu.