October 30, 2019 Issue #267
|
|
Dear MNLGA Members:
It never seems to slow down a beat, does it? Please scan
Root
, below, in its entirety as there is content included that affects your business. I do want to point out a couple of important items:
American Landscape Institute (ALI)
– is hosting a private tour of Millbourne on November 3
rd
. This event was moved, thanks to much-needed rain, from October 27
th
to this coming weekend. The cost of admission, $100, is to support ALI and build its student scholarship fund. Please see below for registration information.
MDA - Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine - is now in effect in Cecil and Howard Counties. Please read full press release, below, for details.
AmericanHort
is unfaltering in its support for the bolstering of American farm labor. Craig Regelbrugge shares several important current goings-on. First, is the work to advance the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. This act is supported by a bipartisan group of Representatives and we hope to help move it through the House of Representatives. Within the following links is more information about this act. MNLGA has signed on to support this legislation.
Summary of the Act; Myth vs Facts
. I encourage you to
contact your Representatives
and ask for their support of this pending legislation.
AmericanHort is sponsoring a one day targeted “fly-in” on Wednesday, November 13
th
to specifically push H2B cap relief, in advance of the November 21 deadline for Congress’ next move on funding the government. The best immediate chances of relief will come through Appropriations. If H2B is important to you, please consider attending this “fly-in.” (Actually, if you take the train, its quick, cheap, and painless!) Legislators need to hear from business owners as to how inadequate labor is affecting you. This is important!! Let me know if you’d like to join the Maryland-based contingent.
Sincerely,
Vanessa A. Finney
MNLGA, Executive Director
410-823-8684
|
|
Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine comes to Maryland
|
|
Event- An Autumn Afternoon at Millbourne
November 3, 2019
Join the American Landscape Institute for an exclusive tour of Millbourne's beautiful gardens and plant collections! You can
register here for this event in support of the American Landscape Institute Scholarship Fund. Experience Millbourne's Perennial Path, House at Pooh Corner and Serpentine Wall, then enjoy some light fare and refreshments at the Carriage House in support of this great Non-Profit!
|
RMC "Rural Summit" - December 12
The MNLGA is a sponsor of the 2019 Rural Maryland Council’s “Rural Summit” to be held December 12th in Annapolis. The sponsorship includes several complimentary tickets. If you would like one of these tickets, please
email Vanessa.
The Rural Summit is a one-day conference and will feature presentations on topics such as:
•Agriculture, Aquaculture, Forestry
•Health Care
•Workforce and Economic Development
•Community Development
The 2019 Summit provides a unique opportunity for public and private sector leaders to get together to learn about innovative ways organizations approach these subjects in rural Maryland.
The audience includes stakeholders in State and local government; members of the for-profit community, nonprofit organizations that work in rural communities; professionals representing health care, economic development, agriculture, and community development, and individual rural citizens interested in the welfare and growth of their communities.
Expected outcomes include networking opportunities, dissemination of information and resources, and the opportunity to collaboratively affect change and help guide future legislative agendas that affect rural people and communities.
|
|
October 21, 2019 - Greenhouse Grower
Check out
this video
from
Greenhouse Grower Contributing Editor Allan Armitage and Editor Janeen Wright for their take on some change-driving issues in the Hort industry over the next year.
Want to learn more about how members of the industry are maximizing their loading and shipping efficiency? Learn more about companies, software and shipping and transportation management in
this article from Greenhouse Grower!
|
Impact Washington Update: AmericanHort
This September, 107 delegates from 26 states (including Maryland) took issues to Washington and executives including US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. They also took part in educational programs and meetings with members of Congress to learn about and advocate for the most important issues facing the Horticulture Industry today.
Learn more here
.
Information and images courtesy of AmericanHort
|
|
|
|
Nutrient Management Training
Join MDA and UMD Extension for Nutrient Management Training on December 17th in Laurel. Info and register
here
.
|
|
UMD IPM Report - October 25th
Winter is right around the corner - and UMD Extension will release its last regular weekly Landscape and Nursery IPM Report of the year next week. If you would like to be included on the distribution list -
please email Suzanne Klick.
The link below is for the most current IPM report.
|
|
Want more IPM?
Re-Certification and Continuing Education Credits will be available, but space is limited! Register today!
Advanced Integrated Pest Management Conference December 6, 2019
|
|
|
In Other News- Here's what else you need to know:
Protect the Bay- homeowners should only hire licensed and certified lawn care professionals. For more information, visit
MDA.Maryland.gov
|
|
This week's HortReport- news from AmericanHort:
(note: to fully read HortReport, you must be an AmericanHort member. Visit AmericanHort.org for membership information)
Tal Coley
Read AmericanHort's
public comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking regarding hours-of-service changes.
Jill Calabro, PhD
California recently struck a deal with Dow Agrosciences and other companies to phase out Chlorpyrifos in the state.
F
ind out more here.
Craig Regelbrugge and Laurie Flanagan
AmericanHort - Lighthouse Newsletter
AmericanHort Storms the Hill
Tal Coley
Over 175 Congressional offices received a visit from Impact Washington Summit attendees last week, hearing directly from the horticulture industry on key issues such as labor reform, transportation, and research funding.
With over one hundred attendees and more than two dozen states represented at the conference, attendees not only met in Capitol Hill offices but also heard first-hand perspectives on these and other issues from lawmakers and officials across the political spectrum.
Read the full article using the link above.
Administrator Wheeler Promotes Regulatory Relief, Transparency at EPA
Jill Calabro, PhD
Andrew Wheeler, Administrator of EPA, was an honored keynote speaker at the AmericanHort Impact Washington Summit. Wheeler did not disappoint. He gave an information-packed presentation that highlighted recent EPA accomplishments relevant to the environmental horticulture industry.
Wheeler spoke of the decision to rescind the 2015 version of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation. Days prior to the Impact Washington event, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers jointly repealed a rule that expanded the WOTUS definition under the Clean Water Act. All judgments will return to the framework existing prior to 2015, re-codifying the longstanding regulatory language.
Read the full article using the link above.
Final Rule Eliminates Wasteful H-2A Print Ads
Craig Regelbrugge and Chris Schulte
On September 20, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a new rule addressing a key concern raised for years by AmericanHort H-2A employers. For decades, DOL has required that agricultural employers looking to hire H-2A workers must run costly print newspaper ads in an effort to recruit interested U.S. applicants. The Department now acknowledges what growers have been telling them for years – these advertisements simply do not result in applications from potential U.S. workers. AmericanHort had raised this issue to the Administration as an area for streamlining and efficiency in the H-2A program.
Read the full article using the link above.
|
|
H-2A Employer Information
: UMD Ag Law Education Initiative
In the past 12 months, inspectors from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Wage and Hour Division have been conducting inspections on farms and nurseries in Maryland. These inspections have focused on employers with H-2A workers and have required employers to produce years of required records. Following the inspections, severe fines and penalties have been issued to employers. After hearing about these inspections, ALEI partnered with the Maryland Department of Labor and Licensing Regulation and created some resources to help better prepare farm employers for these inspections. The first is a
self-audit worksheet
to help employers do an internal review of operations and recordkeeping related to both H-2A and non-H2A employees. The second is a recorded
webinar
on this subject that is available for download.
Remember: If you have migrant or seasonal workers (non H-2A) you are subject to the federal Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act (MSPA). For more information on this law and what is required
check out this publication
and for more information, please contact the Agriculture Law Education Initiative (410-706-7377).
It is very likely these inspections will continue to occur throughout Maryland in the near future. If you have H-2A, migrant and/or seasonal laborers at your operation please take advantage of the resources above and make sure your operation is in legal compliance prior to an inspection.
|
|
MDA - On Demand Webinar for PFA Renewal
The department is now offering an on-demand, pre-recorded recertification webinar for lawn care professionals who need to renew their Professional Fertilizer Applicator Certificates. Maryland’s Lawn Fertilizer Law requires lawn care professionals be certified by the department’s Nutrient Management Program or work under the direct supervision of an individual who is certified. Certificates may be renewed annually for a $100 fee and verification of two hours of recertification training. Successful completion of the webinar and accompanying quiz awards two education credits.
The webinar and quiz are posted on the department’s website.
|
|
AG Literacy Opportunities
New Ways to Participate in the Ag Literacy Program
George Mayo would like to share the following information: This Ag in the Classroom program seeks to instill in Maryland students the importance of agriculture in their daily lives. Any group or individual wishing to promote agriculture is invited to participate – Farmer Bureau members, FFA students, Young Farmers, Commodity group leaders, retirees, or interested individuals.
Literacy Volunteers set up a time to visit in a nearby school and read to students in grades K-3. Following the reading of the book, volunteers conduct an activity with the students and share their experiences in agriculture. The book is then left in the classroom or media center.
For more information or to order a book for $10, contact Shannon Brown at
[email protected] or 410-848-4745.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
