*  Farm Bill Deadlines Extended Until March 31.  Last week the USDA announced the extension of farm bill deadlines, making all decisions due by March 31.  [Read article here.]  Producers will be allowed to make three decisions in connection with the Farm Bill:  whether to reallocate base acres, whether to update yields, and then elect between two payment programs–ARC or PLC.  To read more about these decisions, click here.

* Article Discusses Underground Trespass Issue.  You likely recall from this post that the Texas Supreme Court recently avoided answering the question of whether Texas law recognizes underground trespass.  Attorneys from  Locke Lord LLP wrote a great article discussing this issue, including the Texas Supreme Court decision, and two decisions–one under Louisiana law and one under California law–addressing similar issues.  If you are interested in this topic, that is an interesting read.  [Read article here.]

* What Ranchers Should Know about the Endangered Species Act.  Recently, I wrote an article for Progressive Cattleman providing a basic overview of the Endangered Species Act for ranchers.  No doubt, this is a complex piece of legislation, made even more complex by various agency actions and court decisions, but I think it is important for all of us involved in agriculture to at least understand the basics.  Hopefully, this article will help with that.  [Read article here.]

* USDA Ag and Food Statistics 2014.  The USDA published a selection of charts outlining the ag and food statistics gathered during the last agricultural census.  The charts are interesting, showing statistics related to everything from agricultural incomes, to uses of land in the US, to the largest exporters of ag products.  [View report here.]

* Communication Key To Successfully Transferring Farm To New Generation.  Farm Journal published a great article encouraging open communication between generations when it comes to transferring the farm or ranch.  The article explains that without this communication, there is a severe disconnect between parents and children, which can make transfer difficult. [Read article here.]