Dr. Bart Fischer and I recently co-authored an article for Southern Ag Today looking at the current legal status of Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan of 2021.  This provision required the USDA to make payments to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers  “up to 120% of outstanding indebtedness” of eligible producers for both direct and guaranteed loans administered by USDA agencies.  Numerous lawsuits were filed around the country. To find out more about the current status of Section 1005, click here to read our article.

We wanted to take a minute to give a big THANK YOU to all of the Texas Agriculture Law Blog sponsors.  We are so grateful for your support of this blog! We appreciate Capital Farm Credit,  Lone Star Ag Credit, Texas Corn Producers, Texas Farm Credit, Texas Forestry Association, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Insureberry (a division of Ag Workers Insurance), Texas Grain Sorghum Producers Association, Texas Land Associates, and Texan Title. If you’re a reader, please take a moment to thank these sponsors!

Are you interested in selling beef directly to the consumer?  What type of insurance do you need? How do you set your prices?  Do you need any permits?  Will it increase your profits?  Not sure where to start?  Wonder what mistakes people have made getting their business off the ground? We’ve got the program for you! Dr. Justin Benavidez and I will be hosting two in-person programs focused on the legal and economic issues related to direct beef sales.  These day-long programs will cover a variety of issues… Read More →

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by a New Mexico consumer and a New Mexico cattle rancher against beef packers claiming that the packers’ use of the “Product of the USA” label is misleading as not all products bearing such label originate from cattle born and raised in the United States.  [Read Opinion here.] Background This case involves two class action Complaints filed against packers Tyson Foods, Cargill Meat Solutions, JBS USA Food Company, and National Beef (“the Defendants”). … Read More →

For those of you interested in agriculture across the southern United States, we have an exciting new project!  Southern Ag Today is a collaboration between 13 universities across the South, including Texas A&M.  Each weekday, there is a short article on a topic of interest to southern agriculture. Topics range from crop and livestock marketing to policy, farm management to co-ops, international trade to forestry, rural development to agricultural law (obviously my favorite!)   Check out the website and subscribe to hear from some of the best economists… Read More →

Recently, the Ft. Worth Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Berry v. The New Gainesville Livestock Auction, LLC  case involving a dispute between a cattle purchaser and a local auction barn who sold him eleven head of cows.  This case offers a few important considerations for us to consider.   Background Berry runs a small cow-calf operation on 40 acres in Cooke County and has done so since 2005 in addition to his full-time job as a CPA.  In October 2017, Berry attended a sale at The New… Read More →