Category Archives: Carbon Contracts

Understanding & Evaluating Carbon Contracts

Carbon contracts have been a popular topic of conversation for farmers and ranchers around the country.  As with any agreement, several legal and economic issues arise and should be carefully considered by producers before entering into a carbon contract.  A critical consideration is producers and landowners should never rely on verbal representations made by anyone related to a contract; assume only the written contractual terms will be enforceable.  Remember, this is new territory and many unknowns still exist about the carbon market and these carbon agreements.   I highly… Read More →

2021 Ag Law Year in Review – National

Happy 2022!  As we do each year, we’ve compiled our list of some of the biggest agricultural law stories in 2021.  Today, we will take a look at this from the national level.  Next week, we will take a look at Texas-specific issues.  To hear Paul Goeringer and I discuss the biggest issues of 2021, click here to listen to our year-end episode of the Ag Law in the Field Podcast. Waters of the United States If there has been one constant over the last 5 years, it… Read More →

December 3, 2021 Weekly Round Up

Happy December!  There has been a lot of agricultural law news over the past few weeks, so here are some of the biggest stories impacting agriculture. *Texas Supreme Court denied petition for review in Lyle v. Midway Solar.  Earlier this year, the El Paso Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit filed by mineral owners against a solar company for building a solar farm on the property.  The court held that the accommodation doctrine would apply, but that because the mineral owner had not sought to actually develop the minerals,… Read More →

October 22, 2021 Weekly Round Up

Here are some of the ag law stories that have been in the news recently. *HSUS files lawsuit against Smithfield.  The Humane Society of the United States has filed suit against Smithfield Food alleging the company made false claims regarding animal care standards that mislead consumers.  In particular, the lawsuit takes aim at claims related to gestation crates and group housing of sows.  [Read article here.] *Groups object to EPA rule banning chlorpyrifos.  You may recall from this prior blog post that the EPA passed a rule that… Read More →