Transcript Understanding The Diverse Needs of the Maryland Agriculture Community

Understanding The Diverse Needs of the Maryland Agriculture
Community: Results of a Survey of UME Ag Faculty
Ashley Newhall, Paul Goeringer, Sarah Everhart, & Wanding Zhang
Results of the Needs Assessment conducted by University of Maryland’s
Agriculture Law Education Initiative
Needs Assessment Overview
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Agriculture’s total impact on the Maryland economy was $8.25
billion in 2010 accounting for 22,000 jobs. According to the 2012
Census of Agriculture, Maryland had over 12,000 agriculture
operations producing a varied range of agriculture commodities
including poultry, dairy, grain, equine, nursery, and greenhouse
products to name a few.
The assessment provided the legal community with a deeper
understanding of the legal needs of the state’s agriculture
producers.
The assessment consisted of 23 structured interviews and a survey
of University of Maryland Extension (UME) agriculture faculty.
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The assessment found that legal issues related to environmental
regulations, land use, Maryland Department of Agriculture programs,
business planning, and marketing and diversification ranked high in
concern for the agriculture community in both the interviews and
survey. (Figure 1)
Food Safety and USDA Programs also ranked in concern. (Figure 1)
Additionally, geographical differences also made a difference in
concern for top legal issues. For example, Maryland’s Eastern Shore
found divorce and debt of high importance whereas Southern
Maryland found estate planning and business planning of high
importance.
Outreach Methods
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Photo by Edwin Remsberg
Co-author Credits to Lori Lynch, Stephan Tubene, & William Pons
When looking for the best outreach methods to address the top legal
concerns, Extension Educators found the best method to be homecounty workshops for 6 of the topics. (Figure 2)
The second best outreach method was downloadable fact sheets for 5
of the top legal concerns. (Figure 2)
The least effective outreach method evaluated was a regional or
statewide conference. (Figure 2)
To date, home county workshops have been the most desirable
method of outreach. Webinars have also gained popularity in the past
year due to convenience and working around harvest schedules.
ALEI personnel continue to reach as many agriculture producers in the
most convenient way possible within reasonable means.
In addition, publications, fact sheets and model documents continue to
attract attention and assist many producers with legal concerns.