NEWS &VIEWS You Can Use


Sara Libby Greenhalgh’s Death Ruled Murder


As we reported on equiery.com beginning


July 10, 2012 and published in the August 2012 issue, the body of equine photojournalist and Equiery contributor, Sarah Libbey Greenhalgh, was found July 9 in her burning home in Up- perville, VA in what authorities offi cially con- sider to be a homicide. However, how she died had not been released. In October, the Virginia Medical Examiner’s offi ce released the autopsy reports on the cause of death: Sarah was shot in the neck. As of press, no arrests have been made. When an arrest is made, we will imme- diately post to equiery.com.


Higher Feed Prices? T e Midwest has suff ered its worst drought in


56 years, dramatically reducing corn harvests. Compounding the potential shortages is the concern that some corn could be tainted with afl atoxin, which is a byproduct of mold and can be fatal to livestock. Drought-stressed corn is more susceptible to mold. As of press time, no afl atoxins have been reported, although a va- riety of fi elds do have mold, so authorities are monitoring them closely for the toxin. We will post updates on equiery.com.


MD Labs Earn Int’l Accreditation


After a three-year process, the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) has accredited both the Salisbury Ani- mal Health Laboratory and Frederick Animal Health Laboratory for specifi c tests. T e labs are now among only eight in the U.S. to achieve this accreditation. A2LA is a nonprofi t inter- national laboratory accreditation organization that is dedicated to the formal recognition of competent testing and calibration. T e Frederick lab, which focuses primarily on horses and food-producing livestock, received its accreditation in Contagious Equine Metri- tis Isolation and Identifi cation and Avian In- fl uenza Molecular Diagnostics.


That Touch of Class: Suzanne Stettinius & Mackenzie Taylor


T e Maryland Horse Industry Board presented


two Touch of Class Awards at the Jim McKay Maryland Million Day on October 6, 2012. T e fi rst was presented to Suzanne Stettin- ius of Parkton in honor of her participation in


the 2012 World Olym- pic Games as part of the U.S. Modern Pentathlon team. Stettinius is inter- nationally ranked in the top 40 women pentath- letes, and earned a silver medal at the 2012 North and Central America and Caribbean Open event. Stettinius,


a steeple-


chase jockey and trainer, brought one of her favor- ite mounts to the track as part of the awards presentation. T e second Touch of Class was presented to


Mackenzie Taylor of Damascus. T e 16-year- old and her pony Inkspot had just returned from the World Mounted Games Champion- ships in the United Kingdom, where Taylor was crowned Individual Champion for her age group.


Election Day: Confused about Question 7?


Lots of Equiery readers want to know whether or not Question 7 on the upcoming ballot is “good for the Maryland horse industry” and they want a simple “yes or no” answer and they will vote accordingly. We wish we could tell you whether or not Question 7 is good or bad for the horse industry , but we don’t know, and ––frankly––neither do any industry leaders. As of press time, except for those entities owned by national gambling conglomerates, no horse industry groups have taken a position on Ques- tion 7. If any groups do post a position, we will update equiery.com/blog.


New Farm Regs On October 15, 2012, the new manure and


nutrient management regulations for Maryland went into eff ect, after being published as “fi nal” in the October 5 edition of the Maryland Reg- ister. Regular readers of equiery.com or News & Views in our monthly edition know how con- troversial these proposals have been, and how frustrated farmers and landowners are by what they perceive to be the tin ear of the Maryland Department of Agriculture. An August meet- ing of the Maryland Horse Council was tense at times, with government employees attempting to justify the reasoning that increased regulation


is a good thing and justifi ed by science, while farm owners and elected offi cials, including Sen. David Brinkley, system- atically dismantled or challenged the gov- ernment employees claims. Talk about a lively town hall debate! For information on how these regs ap-


ply to your farm, please visit equiery.com and scroll down the home page for the blog posting with this same title. Meanwhile, the American Farm Bu-


reau Federation is working to sever federal oversight of the Bay, claiming that this is a prerogative that should be


reserved for the states within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Should AFBF prevail, the nu- trient management regs, which are based upon federal requirements, could be challenged.


$500,000 for Manure


Smells a little bit like a consolation prize. On October 12, the Maryland Department of


Agriculture (MDA) announced that it has re- ceived $500,000 in additional funding from the Chesapeake Bay 2010 Trust Fund to expand its Manure Transport Program to include all types of eligible livestock operations seeking fi nancial assistance to transport excess manure off their farms—and not just poultry farms, as has been the case in recent years. Established in 1998, program is intended to help all livestock producers cover the costs of transporting excess manure off their farms. Eli- gible farmers can receive cost-share assistance of up to $18 per ton to transport excess manure to other farms in accordance with an approved nutrient management plan. Farmers interested in applying for grants through the Manure Transport Program should contact their local soil conservation districts or call the Maryland Department of Agriculture at 410-841-5864. To read more, please visit equiery.com and scroll down for the posting with this same title.


Jan 1: MD Land Owners Will Be Bur- dened With Death Tax From the Maryland Farm Bureau: Just when


we got things worked out at the state level— setting the estate tax exemption at $5 million for farm families—the federal government is about to let the federal exemption slip back to $1 million.


continued on page 28


IF YOU HAVE NEWS, VIEWS OR UPDATES TO CONTRIBUTE, PLEASE SEND THEM TO Editor at The Equiery, P.O. Box 610, Lisbon, MD 21765 • FAX: 410-489-7828 • email editor@equiery.com.


Be sure to include your full name, phone number and address. All submissions become the property of The Equiery. www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 NOVEMBER 2012 | THE EQUIERY | 9


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88