Rancher Leasing Workshops Planned

AMARILLO – After such a positive response last year, four new Rancher Leasing Workshops covering grazing, hunting and livestock leases are scheduled across the state by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

The free programs are funded by the Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center, said Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist in Amarillo.

“Last year, 100 percent of participants said they would recommend these programs to a friend, so we decided to offer them in more locations,” Lashmet said.

The schedule will be:

– Aug. 22, noon-4 p.m., Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 1102 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1294, Lubbock.

– Sept. 1, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Hildebrand Equine Complex, 3240 F&B Road, College Station.

– Sept. 19, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., AgriLife Extension office for Frio County, 400 S. Pecan St., Pearsall.

– Oct. 19, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Tom Green 4-H Center, 3168 N. U.S. Highway 67, San Angelo.

Lashmet said lunch will be provided by two sponsors: Ag Workers Insurance for the Lubbock, College Station and San Angelo programs, and Security State Bank for the Pearsall program.

Participants will need to RSVP at least one week before the meeting they will attend to Kim Garcia, 806-677-5626 or kim.garcia@ag.tamu.edu.

Each workshop will address the legal risks associated with agricultural leases, Lashmet said. The goal is to educate landowners and producers on the importance of utilizing written leases as a risk management tool.

Joining Lashmet on the program will be AgriLife Extension economists from around the state.

“We will discuss the potential legal implications of failing to have a sufficient written lease and the potential legal issues and litigation that the development of written leases can help avoid,” she said. “The workshops will also familiarize participants with key terms and provisions that should be considered in lease negotiations.”

Participants will receive a leasing handbook that covers legal issues, designing lease payment structures and calculating payments, landowner liability, as well as checklists and sample lease forms for negotiating lease agreements.