Impact of the 2017 Legislative Session on Maryland Agriculture

Published in the April 22, 2017, issue of Lancaster Farming

Throughout the 90-day session as the Maryland General Assembly gathered in Annapolis we focused on educating legislators about Maryland’s number one industry and a number of bills that would have had a direct negative impact on the agriculture industry and the operational and fiscal functions of the department.

We also continued with our outreach to inform legislators about the Department of Agriculture and services we provide to the industry, consumers and the general public. I personally participated in two agricultural briefings to various committees on the status of Maryland’s agricultural community and the department’s function as a state agency, in addition to countless individual meetings with legislators and their staff to ensure they understand the importance of Maryland’s agriculture industry to the economy and rural life.

The Department put forward three departmental bills this session that were adopted by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Larry Hogan. We are particularly excited about HB 120 – Seafood and Aquaculture Product Marketing, which transfers the marketing responsibility for Maryland seafood products to the Maryland Department of Agriculture from the Department of Natural Resources. Seafood marketing will join the current Agriculture Marketing and Development Program, which will be renamed Agriculture & Seafood Marketing and Development.

Along with the marketing program, HB 120 moves approximately $190,000 in special funds from fees collected on commercial watermen and processing licenses by the Department of Natural Resources. The department will pursue further funding from USDA and other grants to support the new program, as well. Our department’s marketing program has made great strides in supporting and promoting local agriculture products, and I am confident that we can have the same success with the state’s seafood and aquaculture industry.

Governor Hogan signed two additional departmental bills into law that focused on promoting Maryland agriculture products and streamlining processes identified by industry and county governments. These bills include:

• HB 130 – Maryland Wine and Grape Promotion Fund – creates a more efficient review and approval process for applications submitted to the Maryland Wine & Grape Promotion Fund

• HB 155 – Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation- Easement Termination – streamlines the easement termination process by having the county conduct its review and hearing and deciding whether the request should be approved or denied. If the county denies the request, the request fails and does not move forward to the Foundation, resulting in the Foundation not expending time and effort on termination applications that it cannot approve.  If the request is approved, it moves forward to the Foundation to determine whether the land may be farmed profitably.

Governor Hogan continued to show support for Agriculture in his budget. He increased the funding for the Maryland Ag Cost Share Program (MACS) from $6 million to $8 million to help offset the lost funding from last year. This program provides farmers with grants to cover up to 87.5 percent of the cost to install conservation measures known as best management practices on their farms to prevent soil erosion, manage nutrients and safeguard water quality in streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation and the other land preservation programs received full funding this year along with $2.5 million in funding for MARBIDCO’s Next Generation Ag Land Preservation Program.

The Governor included an additional $2.5 million in his supplemental budget to pay for the record 560,000 acres of cover crops acres planted by farmers last fall. Cover crops are one of the most cost effective practices and environmentally sustainable ways for farmers to help the State reach its Chesapeake Bay clean up goals. During budget deliberations, the legislature cut the funding for this important program. The department is looking at other funding sources to ensure farmers who participated in the program are compensated for their certified planted acres.

The General Assembly also passed the following legislation of interest to the agricultural community:

SB 422 – Keep Antibiotics Effective Act of 2017– after being severely amended, prohibits the administration of a medically important antimicrobial drug to cattle, swine, or poultry solely for the purpose of promoting weight gain or improving feed efficiency. The Maryland Department of Agriculture must annually collect, and report on, specified publicly available data on the use in the State of medically important antimicrobial drugs in cattle, swine, and poultry. The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to impose an administrative penalty for a violation of the bill’s provisions and may adopt regulations to carry out the bill. As amended, this bill conforms to the federal rule that went into effect on January 1, 2017.

HB 1063 – Maryland Healthy Soils Program – establishes the Maryland Healthy Soils Program within the Maryland Department of Agriculture. The primary function of this bill is to assist and educate farmers on how to improve their soil health. The key objective of this bill is to improve soil quality. The removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, also known as carbon sequestration, will also be reviewed and studied through the program.

HB 1035 – Motor Vehicles – Seasonal Exceptional Milk Hauling Permit – re-establishes the Exceptional Milk Hauling Permit that was allowed to sunset last October. This bill would make permanent the annual permit to allow up to 88,000 pounds on a 5-axle truck during the “spring flush,” which includes the months of March through June.

SB 917- Motor Vehicles – Gross Weight and Axle Load and Exceptional Hauling –establishes an Exceptional Hauling Permit for hauling live poultry within the nine Eastern Shore counties. This permit would be similar to the Exceptional Milk Hauling Permit and allow up to 88,000 pounds on a 5-axle truck. However, the permit is only valid for six months of the year (November through April) and has a five-year sunset. Additional data and reporting requirements must also be sent from the poultry haulers to the State Highway Administration.

SB 416 – Income Tax Credit – Qualified Farms – Food Donation Pilot Program – creates a pilot program for a state tax income credit of up to $5,000 for qualified farms donating food to authorized organizations. The program, which goes into effect on July 1, 2017, would be limited to Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties.

The department will continue to work with a wide-range of various stakeholders, commissions, and advisory boards, after the session to address any possible legislative issues or policy developments.