Agricultural Law Conference Guides Maryland Farmers Through Uncertain Times

By Laura Lee

Farmers, legal scholars, environmentalists, and state officials gathered in Annapolis on Nov. 10 for the 2025 Agricultural and Environmental Law Education Initiative (ALEI) conference, where discussions centered on building resilient local food systems.

During a pre-lunch address, Renée Laurent, JD,  dean, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, acknowledged the challenges farmers face as they scramble to keep up with policy shifts affecting everything from global trade to SNAP benefits to climate-smart agriculture grants.

"It’s dizzying imagining how hard it would be to keep up with changes," Laurent said. "That highlights just how really critically important the work of ALEI is."

The conference is an annual highlight for ALEI, a University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State (MPower) initiative that is a collaboration of Maryland Carey Law; the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources (AGNR) at the University of Maryland, College Park; and the School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. Launched in 2013, ALEI’s mission is to educate and serve Maryland family farmers by providing expert information and training on complex legal issues such as estates and trusts, regulatory compliance, and farm food safety.