For those of you who had trouble opening Governor-elect Hogan's responses to our Candidate Questionnaire . . .

. . . try clicking here or viewing the images below.

New Overview of Maryland's fencing laws now available

Via the University of Maryland's agricultural law blog:

 "There is an old adage on good fences and neighbors.  This is especially true in agriculture.  A good fence can keep livestock in the pasture, can keep livestock off your property, or can act as a barrier to potentially detour trespassers/unwanted visitors.  But what exactly is the fencing laws in Maryland?  Like many states in the East, Maryland does not have a specific state statute defining what a fence is and the duties for two neighboring landowners in erecting a fence.  Instead, Maryland’s fencing law is based on county ordinances (where available) and previous court decisions."

Click here for more info, including how to get a copy of a new "publication, Understanding Agricultural Liability: Maryland Fencing Law (2014, EB-419), provides a general overview of previous court decisions related to fencing in agriculture and examples of county ordinances that impact fencing duties.  For example, counties potentially have ordinances that impact the maintenance and construction of fences, specify how costs should be split between neighboring landowners, and liens to force non-paying landowners to pay their share of the costs."

Want to see what Governor-elect Hogan says about issues facing horse people?

Click here to see how Larry Hogan's campaign responded to questions put to him by the Maryland Horse Council.

Horse Council Comments on Expanded Sunday Hunting in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties

November 3, 2014

Peter Jayne
Associate Director
Wildlife and Heritage Service Department of Natural Resources P.O. Box 68
Wye Mills, MD 21679 peter.jayne@maryland.gov

RE: Comments on Proposed Action [14-280-P], 41:19 Md. R (September 19, 2014)

Dear Mr. Jayne:

The Maryland Horse Council (MHC) is a membership-based, umbrella trade association of the entire horse industry in Maryland. Our membership includes horse farms; horse related businesses; individual enthusiasts; and breed, interest and discipline associations. As such, we represent over 30,000 Marylanders who make their living with horses, or just own and love them.

MHC is pleased to submit the following comments regarding the above referenced regulation that is being proposed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The Maryland Horse Council objects to Proposed Action [14-280-P], which proposes to amend Regulation .01 under COMAR 08.03.03: Open Seasons, Bag Limits for Game Birds and Game Animals. This proposed regulation is unnecessary and counterproductive to DNR’s own analysis and stated goals, as well as contrary to public policy.

DNR has stated repeatedly in legislative hearings and elsewhere that it needs Sunday hunting as one of its most important and effective tools to help reduce burgeoning deer herd populations by increasing the harvest of deer by hunters. DNR’s own white-tailed deer harvest data however, demonstrate that deer harvest numbers have declined, instead of increased, since the introduction of Sunday hunting.

DNR acknowledges this in its “Wildlife and Heritage Service Stakeholders Bi- Annual Review of Regulations,” stating that the “Harvest in Region A has been stable, or declining since 2004.”

It is no surprise, therefore, that according to DNR’s “Final Selection of HUNTING AND TRAPPING REGULATION PROPOSALS for 2014-2015 and 2015-2016,” “Many hunters remain dissatisfied with the current deer population levels in Region A and think they should be higher.”

Thus, According to DNR’s own documents and its stated interest in stabilizing and even growing the deer population in the western counties, expanding deer hunting on Sundays in western Maryland makes no sense.

The proposal states that there is no economic impact or small business impact as a result of the increased days of hunting. The law requires that an agency must make an accurate and realistic analysis of the impact of a proposed regulation. DNR’s statement of “no impact” clearly violates this requirement, since it ignores the effect of the proposed regulation on such things as crop damage, contribution to the local economy by visiting hunters vs by other users of hunting lands, etc.

Furthermore, DNR’s own research demonstrates that the majority of Maryland residents oppose deer hunting on Sundays. According to DNR’s “Maryland White-tailed Deer Plan 2009-2018:” “Opposition exceeds support for deer hunting on Sundays in Maryland among Maryland residents. . . . Large landowners are like residents in that opposition exceeds support for hunting deer on Sundays.”

DNR’s continued promotion of expanded Sunday hunting on private lands when its own study found that landowners do not want it: (“large landowners are less likely to allow Sunday deer hunting on their property than allow it”) (supra), could be considered a failure of its regulatory mission and a violation of the public trust. Given that DNR manages recreational and wildlife lands for the enjoyment of and use by all Maryland citizens: hunters as well as hikers, bikers, bird watchers, mushroom hunters, etc., DNR should support, and not undermine, fair shared use of those resources one day a week during gunning season.

In conclusion, expanded Sunday hunting in the Western counties should be abandoned, since it demonstrably does not advance DNR’s stated goal of increasing (or at least not further reducing) the deer herd size in those counties. Moreover, DNR should not continue to promote expanded Sunday hunting throughout the state, since it clearly disadvantages the majority of other stakeholders whose interests DNR is statutorily tasked to serve and since it goes against the wishes of the majority of Marylanders.

The State should continue to work with various stakeholder groups, including but not limited to the Maryland Farm Bureau, to find the most effective and efficient means to reduce deer populations in areas where they have a quantifiably negative financial impact on agriculture (as well as similarly quantifiably negative impact in certain suburban areas). In working with various stakeholder groups, DNR should continue to pursue initiatives for deer herd reduction not considered in the 2009-2018 White- tailed Deer Plan, such as market hunting.

MHC appreciates the opportunity to comment on these proposed regulations, and urges DNR to adopt the recommendations set forth here.

Respectfully submitted, 

Jane Seigler President 

Proposed regulations to implement the Ag Certainty Program are released.

Via the University of Maryland's Risk Management Blog:
"Comments on these proposed regulations are due by November 17 to Louise Lawrence, Chief, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Office of Resource Conservation, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis, Maryland 21401, or, call 410-841-5873, or email to Louise.Lawrence@maryland.gov, or fax to 410-841-5734.  Take a moment and consider how these potential regulations will impact your operation and consider letting MDA know your thoughts."

Click here for more info.

Useful publication on Maryland and Federal labor laws and applicable agricultural exemptions.

Via the University of Maryland Agricultural Law Initiative and the Maryland Farm Bureau:
"Compliance with labor laws is essential for all businesses including Maryland’s family farms, who are often able to gain exemptions to the general labor requirements. In fact, the Federal law directly addresses agricultural businesses and provides useful exemptions to the standard labor regulations. The publication by William Pons examines the laws and regulations affecting everything from hiring of individuals to the paying of minimum wage as it relates to agriculture operations. Additionally, the publication provides a nice overview of the applicable exemptions and clarifies aspects of labor law that may be confusing.  This publication is useful for all individuals who are operating a farm or agricultural related business and hire employees."

Click here to download a copy of this publication.

Maryland General Assembly Candidate Endorsements

The following candidates for seats in the Maryland General Assembly were endorsed by vote of the Maryland Horse Council Board of Directors at its Quarterly Meeting on August 26th in New Market, Maryland.

This is the first time in MHC history that we have endorsed candidates for office. The endorsement decisions were based on the candidates’ proven track record of support for MHC and our issues and concerns, including support for: equestrian training and competition facilities and equestrian sports; farmland preservation; the Thoroughbred industry, breeders and racing; our opposition to Sunday hunting; and attendance at MHC events.

Senator Thomas V. (Mike) Miller - Senate

Delegate Michael (Mike) Busch - House

Senator Thomas (Mac) Middleton - Senate

Delegate Maggie Macintosh - House

Delegate Sheila Hixson - House

Senator Joan Carter Conway - Senate

Senator Roy Dyson - Senate

Delegate Susan Aumann - House

Senator J.B. Jennings - Senate

Delegate Stephen Lafferty – House

Delegate Eric Luedtke – House

Delegate Geraldine Valentino-Smith – House

Delegate David Rudolph – House

Delegate Steven Arentz -- House

Delegate Guy Guzzone -- Senate