By Sarah Fielder
Court of Appeals Lifts Stay in Medical Cannabis Case Late last week, the Maryland Court of Appeals lifted a stay issued by a Baltimore County court involving decisions of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission to issue licenses to potential medical cannabis growers in the state. One group that was not awarded a license has been challenging the commission’s decision in state court. Early this month, the Baltimore County judge had issued the stay due to concerns of limited minority participation in the licensing process. To read more about the decision, click here http://wapo.st/2sV1Tlo.
Perdue Names Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development This week Secretary Perdue named Anne Hazlett, formerly with the Senate Ag Committee, to the position of Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development. Hazlett will oversee the Rural Business Service, Rural Utilities Service, and Rural Housing Service. To read more about this appointment, http://bit.ly/2te3bY4.
Call to Modernize Regulations on Genetically Engineered Plants and Animals U.S. regulations on genetically modified organisms have substantially remained the same since the mid-1980s. Earlier this year, the FDA and USDA proposed regulations that would impact GE plants and animals differently. The journal Nature has an editorial calling on people to comment on the proposed process. To learn more about the proposed regulations, click here http://go.nature.com/2rr5Wnn.
Mid-Year Estate Plan Checklist How many of you have estate plans? Even though summer can be busy, it might be a good time to take a minute to reflect on making sure the estate plan still works for you. National Law Review has a checklist online of 10 things you should be considering when doing this review. Take a moment and check it out at http://bit.ly/2sjw8nW.
New UME Publication Available on Equine Leasing Leasing a horse is a common practice, but many owners and those looking to lease a horse often struggle with what needs to go into an equine lease. Sara BhaduriHauck and Paul Goeringer have authored a fact sheet laying out the basics of what should be considered in leasing a horse and a sample lease to aid in developing the lease. To view the publication, see https://go.umd.edu/EquineLease.
New MDA & UME Publication Available on Cover Crop Seed Saving The signup period for Maryland’s cover crop program has begun recently. Although planting will not happen until later this fall, MDA and UME have teamed up to develop a short publication explaining the issues associated with using saved seeds to plant the cover crop. In many cases, producers will be limited to utilizing their own saved seeds or no ability to utilize saved seeds based on federal laws. To see the 2-page publication, see https://go.umd.edu/CoverCropSeed.
Webinar-Ag Leasing 101-Termination, Lease Forms & Vital Terms: June 20, 2017, 12 p.m.-1 p.m. Tune in to hear Sarah Everhart, ALEI Senior Research Associate and Legal Specialist give an overview of the proper way to terminate this year’s farm lease and how you should form next year’s lease to protect your interests, maximum profitability and avoid legal hassles. Register here.