Texas Farm Animal Liability Act FAQ

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As you may recall from several prior posts, the Texas Legislature passed several changes to the Texas Farm Animal Liability Act  (FALA) that went into effect on September 1, 2021.  To read more detail about the Farm Animal Liability Act and these changes, click here. After fielding many questions from folks who just wanted basic information (and less of the legal detail that lawyers like me enjoy so much), I thought a quick frequently asked questions breakdown might be useful. What is the FALA?  The Farm Animal Liability… Read More →

2021 USDA NASS Cash Rent Report Available

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Each year, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service conducts a nationwide survey to gather data and compile a report showing average cash rental rates across the United States. To view the database with the data for each state, click here.  To view the database with data for each county in the US, click here.  To view the report for Texas, broken down by region and county, click here.  Please note that all reported cash rent amounts are listed in a per acre/per year format. Here’s how things broke… Read More →

September 24, 2021 Weekly Round Up

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>Hello and Happy Friday!  We’re back with an Ag Law Weekly Round Up to catch you up on some of the ag law stories over the past month. *EPA Administrator discusses dicamba, WOTUS, and ag advisor.  Recently, EPA Administrator, Michael Regan, spoke at the NASDA national meeting.  He indicated that the EPA is currently working on a new version of the “waters of the United States” definition pursuant to the Clean Water Act, and he expects for the initial proposed draft to be released in November.  He did… Read More →

Waters of the United States Update

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For those of you following along with the ongoing saga surrounding the definition of “waters of the United States” pursuant to the Clean Water Act, there have been several recent rulings and happenings of which you will want to be aware. Background  The Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, gave federal jurisdiction to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (COE) over “waters of the United States.”  Essentially, a person who wishes to do certain activities in a water of the United States—such as point… Read More →

Farm & Ranch Families + Mental Health Podcast Episode

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September is National Suicide Prevention Month.  This is a topic that is very important to me, so I wanted to do a podcast episode discussing mental health in the agricultural context.  I was joined by Ted Matthews, a counselor who has spent his career working with farm and ranch families as Director of the Minnesota Rural Mental Health Specialists.  Ted offered some great insight about mental health on the farm.  To listen to our conversation, click here. Additionally, we’ve compiled a list of resources related to mental health… Read More →

Tyler Court of Appeals Affirms Nuisance Verdict, Permanent Injunction Against Chicken Farm

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The Tyler Court of appeals recently affirmed a nuisance verdict and resulting permanent injunction against an East Texas poultry farm. Background Plaintiffs each own rural property in the Malakoff area of Henderson County, Texas.  In 2015, Defendant Steve Huynh bought 231 acres of land in Malakoff to build a chicken farm.  Steve previously owned and operated chicken barns for Defendant Sanderson.  Both Defendants Timmy Huynh and Thinh Nguyen, relatives of Steve, were approved as growers for Sanderson, and Steve’s Henderson County property was approved as a barn site…. Read More →

Hunting Lease Resources

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With this being the opening weekend of dove season and with deer season coming up soon here in Texas, I’ve gotten a lot of questions and interview requests about hunting leases.  We’ve got a variety of resources–many free–that offer great information for landowners interested in allowing others to hunt on their land.  I thought it might be useful to write a post just outlining and providing links to those various resources in one place. With regard to the two handbooks mentioned below, I’ve linked the free PDF versions,… Read More →

End of Life Documents

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Unfortunately, I’ve received several questions recently from people needing to know what end of life documents they need to have in place if a loved one ends up ill or incapacitated.  These topics are never fun to think about, but they are extremely important for everyone to have in place.  While there is countless information about the various tools that can be used and options for someone to consider in determining how best to leave their estate, there are a couple of end of life documents that everyone… Read More →

August 27, 2021 Weekly Round Up

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We’ve made it through another week!  I know many of you are new readers thanks to my surprisingly popular post on Monday about brand registrations.  If you missed that post, click here. Here is a look at some of the ag law stories recently in the news. * Appellate courts rule on three “ag gag” statutes.  I am going to have a more detailed blog post on this coming in the next couple of weeks, but there have been three decisions from federal appellate courts related to “ag… Read More →

TX Livestock & Horse Brands Expiring, Need To Renew by February

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In Texas, if a livestock owner uses brands, earmarks, tattoos, or electronic devices to mark their cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, or horses, they must register the brands with the county clerk.  See Texas Agric. Code Sections 144.001; 144.041.  Brands must be registered at the county clerk’s office in any county where the livestock resides.  See Texas Agric. Code Section 144.041.  For example, if we have livestock both in Carson County and in Gray County, we will need to ensure that our brand is registered at both of those… Read More →