Maryland Lawmakers Applauded for Farmer Protection Efforts

By CnAgri2012-10-10 19:37:23 Print

SaveFarmFamilies.org applauds Sen. Richard Colburn and the Maryland General Assembly for granting funds to protect Maryland farmers from future attacks by radical environmentalists. The Assembly recently passed Budget Amendment R30B21.00, which will provide $250,000 through the University System of Maryland to leverage state resources to assist farmers in the State with estates and trust issues, compliance with environmental laws, and other matters necessary to preserve family farms.

The website says this is a major victory for members of SaveFarmFamilies.org and state taxpayers who are outraged that Alan and Kristin Hudson, a fourth-generation farm family from Berlin, Md., are the victims of a meritless lawsuit driven by the Waterkeeper Alliance and the taxpayer-funded University of Maryland School of Law.

"We view this $250,000 allocation as a major victory for the Hudsons and farm families everywhere," said Patricia Langenfelder, president of the Maryland Farm Bureau and a SaveFarmFamilies.org member. "This is yet another signal that the Waterkeepers and the Environmental Law Clinic didn't really think or care about the ramifications of suing first and asking questions later. Clearly many in the state of Maryland see flaws in their approach. Hopefully this new funding will prevent others from pursuing such careless litigation in the future and help protect other farm families from what the Hudsons have had to endure."

Due to reckless lawsuits by radical environmentalists, farmers like the Hudsons now need access to such a fund in order to level the playing field. According to the Waterkeeper Alliance's 2011 Annual Report, the group aims to push policy through hard-nosed litigation tactics. The Waterkeeper Alliance has developed a large stable of seasoned trial lawyers to drive its agenda, one of whom is Professor Jane Barrett, director of the University of Maryland抯 Environmental Law Clinic.

The Waterkeeper Alliance raises more than $3 million a year through lavish fundraisers, while the Hudsons rely on local support and chicken and dumpling benefit dinners.