2023 Winter Webinar Series

Laws of the Land: What to Know About Your Farm BEFORE You Commit
Wednesday, Feb 1st, 12:00-1:15EST
Presenters: Attorney Laura Hartz and Attorney Stacey Caulk, Drummond Woodsum

You’ve heard the phrase ‘location, location, location’ when it comes to choosing a home. It’s no different for farmers when choosing a site for their farm business. All sites come with unique conditions that impact the farm’s viability, including physical characteristics, zoning restrictions, federal and state permitting requirements, and pre-existing third-party rights of neighbors, landlords, tenants, easement holders, or lenders. This webinar will cover the who, what, how, where, and most importantly, why, of identifying the unique characteristics and regulatory requirements tied to your future farm property before you sign on the dotted line.

View Here

Hosting a Food Focused Event: The Legal Side of a Delicious Activity
Wednesday, February 8th, 12:00-1:15EST
Presenters: Corie Pierce, Bread and Butter Farm VT
                   Dr. Lisa Chase, University of Vermont
                   Attorney Andrew Marchev, Fellow at Vermont Law School

Hosting an event with food on your farm is a great way to gather your community, educate the public about farming, and grow your business. Join this webinar to learn about next steps to safely and legally offer samples, host a tasting, farm to table meal, or other event with food on your farm. During the session we will hear from Corie Pierce, owner of Bread and Butter Farm in Shelburne, Vermont and regular host of burger nights. We will also hear from Andrew Marchev, Legal Fellow at the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems and Lisa Chase, Agritourism Expert at University of Vermont Extension.

View Here

Media and Marketing 101
Wednesday, February 15th, 12:00-1:15EST
Presenters: Attorneys Elliot Brake, Kevan Lee Deckelmann, Chad W. Higgins, Matthew J.  Saldaña, Bernstein Shur

As a small business, you are likely using emails, text, and social media to advertise your business and communicate with your customers. You may also have your own webpage spotlighting customer reviews and other content. With all these forms of social media and communication comes a web of laws that are difficult to navigate. During this webinar, a team of attorneys from Bernstein Shur will help you detangle these laws. We will cover topics such as email, text, and social media marketing, claim substantiation, website policies, the proper use of logos and other copyrighted material, endorsements, testimonials, and customer reviews, and other hot topics in advertising law.

View Here

Onboarding New Employees
Wednesday, February 22, 12:00-1:15EST
Presenter: Attorney Tara Walker, Bernstein Shur

Congratulations! Your small business is ready to hire your first employees. This is both an exciting and daunting process. Luckily, we have Tara Walker of Bernstein Shur Portland, Maine who will walk you through this process. Tara will cover common legal traps for the hiring manager in the hiring and interview process, she will provide a checklist of best practices, and recommended documentation for your new employees.

View Here

Selling Value-Added Products on the Farm
Wednesday, March 1, 12:00-1:15EST
Presenter: Legal Services Specialist Christine Dzujna, Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund

If you are a farmer interested in opening a farmstand on your property, please join us to learn about key federal, state and local regulations that impact small food producers who seek to make and sell value-added products from home.  We will cover what’s allowed when selling meat, eggs, dairy, cottage foods such as pickles and baked goods, and more, and explore the legal solutions that can help these businesses grow and thrive.  

View Here