PART TWO - Legal Considerations for Farms Doing Direct Online Marketing & E-Commerce

PART TWO Tuesday June 3, 2025, 7:00 - 8:00 pm

• Compliance with selling farm products online including food safety compliance in e-delivery businesses
• Labeling regulations and food delivery obligations for direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales of food
• Sales tax regulations for selling into other states

Speakers

Nicole Cook
Environmental and Agricultural Faculty Legal Specialist
University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Nicole received her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Iowa and her Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law. Nicole also holds Master of Law in Agricultural and Food Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law. Her areas of expertise include food safety, risk management planning, nutrient management, new and beginning farmer sustainability planning and preparation, intellectual property rights. Nicole practiced as a trial attorney and as in-house corporate counsel for several years before completing her LL.M. in Agriculture and Food Law.  She served briefly as the senior advisor for the USDA’s Risk Management Agency under the Obama Administration before joining ALEI.

Margaret (Megan) Todd
Managing Director & Senior Research Associate 
University of Maryland, Baltimore - Francis King Carey School of Law

Megan is Adjunct Faculty, Managing Director & Senior Legal Research Associate for the Agricultural Law Education Initiative at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Carey School of Law. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies – Policy from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESY) and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Carey School of Law with a focus in Environmental Law. During law school she served on several student organizations while working as a law clerk for the firm of Rich and Henderson (Annapolis, MD), a volunteer law clerk for the Homeless Persons Representation Project (Baltimore, MD), and a junior editor for The Authority (a quarterly publication for The Housing and Development Law Institute). 

She also attended Northland College (Ashland, WI) before moving to New York to complete her undergraduate studies and hold a Certificate of Paralegal Studies from Harper College (Palatine, IL). Before law school, Megan spent four years as a litigation paralegal for Paulson and Nace, PLLC, managing complex medical malpractice case files.

Since 2019, Megan has developed and delivered education related to agriculture labor, food safety, conservation leasing, urban agriculture, contracting, and various business risk management strategies. Her work allows her to collaborate extensively with University of Maryland Extension agents, co-members of the Maryland Food Safety Network, and other inspiring and passionate professionals from across states and sectors.

Recent publications include the Legal Guide to Direct Farm Marketing for Maryland Specialty Crop Producers (2021) and Adding Value to Specialty Crops: Regulatory Decision Trees for Maryland Producers (2022).

Megan is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association (and serves on the Agriculture Law Section Council), the American Agricultural Law Association, the Maryland Program for Mediator Excellence, and the International Farm Transition Network.