July 19, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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It’s been a busy week on the ag law front in Texas.  Here are some of the stories in the news this week. *Texas water battle featured in Wall Street Journal.  A water fight in Pecos County was featured in a Wall Street Journal article this week.  The article does a good job illustrating the tensions between landowners, agricultural producers, oil and gas companies, and Texas law.  [Read article here.] *New law allows killing feral hogs without hunting license.  As of September 1, 2019, no hunting license is… Read More →

Austin Court of Appeals: Breeder Deer Are Not Private Property

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A recent decision from the Austin Court of Appeals in Bailey v. Smith, is important for many Texas landowners involved in the business of raising deer.  This case addressed the issue of whether breeder deer–raised by persons with the required TPWD permit–are considered private property of the deer breeder or are owned by the State. One note here–this case also addressed a number of other technical legal issues such as sovereign immunity, ultra vires action of state officials, and attorney’s fees awards.  This blog post will not discuss these… Read More →

July 12, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Friday!  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news recently. *Texas Supreme Court grants petition for review in Garcia v. Pruski.  As you may recall from this prior post, the San Antonio Court of Appeals issued a ruling in a fence law case involving a bull out on a State Highway in Wilson County, which has a local stock law.  The appellate court found that both the “knowingly permit” standard applicable to state and US highways and the “permit” standard applicable in Wilson County pursuant to… Read More →

RFID Ear Tags To Be Required USDA Identification for ADT by 2023

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In April, the USDA announced it will be making changes to the mandatory Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) program concerning the type of ear tags that may be used in beef cattle, dairy cattle, and bison.  [View Factsheet here.] Keep in mind that this blog post addresses only the federal regulations applicable to interstate transport of livestock.  State-specific rules apply to intrastate transport and many states may have import requirements for livestock from other states.  For more information on state-specific regulations, click here. Background The ADT program began in… Read More →

Attorney General Opinion Sought in Fence Law Issue

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Representative Poncho Nevarez has filed a request for an Attorney General Opinion to provide guidance on how stray livestock should be handled in an open range county. [Read request here.]  This is an issue not previously addressed by a Texas appellate court, on which there is a good deal of confusion, and on which I receive a lot of questions.  It will be very interesting to see what opinion the AG offers. Legal Background Presidio County, Texas is open range.  The county has never passed a local stock… Read More →

June 28, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Friday!  Today, I’m speaking in Crockett at our “Owning Your Piece of Texas: Top Laws Texas Landowners Need to Know” program.  You’ve only got two more chances to catch one of these free events–Cat Spring on August 26 and College Station on September 12.  For more info click here and to register click here. Here are some ag law stories in the news from the last couple of weeks. *Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Kinder Morgan Permian Highway pipeline.  You may recall from this prior blog post that… Read More →

Texas Supreme Court Upholds Condemnation of Private Drive

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The Texas Supreme Court recently upheld the condemnation of a private drive in a case that tested the scope of “public” use under the Texas Constitution and the meaning of Texas Government Code 2206, which prohibits taking private property for certain economic development purposes. Background KMS is a commercial real estate developer that owned a 9-acre, triangle-shaped, lot in the City of Rowlett.  Four commercial sites were built on the southern boundary of the tract.  As part of that development, KMS built a private driveway, allowing access to… Read More →

Case Illustrates Importance of Bank Account Details

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A case from the Tyler Court of Appeals back in 2017 recently caught my attention   Hare v. Longstreet offers a good reminder that the way one sets up a bank account can have important consequences down the road, and there are specific rules related to joint accounts of which people need to be aware. Background In 1998, L.D. Hare opened a checking account in his name at Austin Bank.  In 2000, he added Sherry Longstreet to the account.  In 2015, he added his son, Larry Hare, to the… Read More →

June 14, 2019 Weekly Round Up

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It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the world of agricultural law.  I want to welcome those of you who I met at speaking events for the Hill Country Cattle Women in Fredericksburg and the Owning Your Piece of Texas Ag Law Workshop in San Antonio.  If you’d like to see an article  and short video about our Owning Your Piece of Texas program, click here. Here are some of the major ag law stories in the news over the past two weeks. *Lawsuit filed against US… Read More →

Indiana Court of Appeals Upholds Constitutionality of Right to Farm Act

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Recently, the Indiana Court of Appeals heard a challenge to the Indiana Right to Farm Statute.  In Himsel v. Himsel, the court held the statute was constitutional. Factual Background Sam Himsel has farmed in rural Hendricks County, Indiana, for his entire life.  In 2012, he and his sons decided to form 4/9 Livestock to start raising hogs.  They located their hog farm on property that had been in their family for over two decades and had been used for agriculture since at least 1941. The family planned to construct… Read More →