Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, 806-677-5668, tiffany.dowelllashmet@ag.tamu.edu

AMARILLO – Three Rancher Leasing Workshops covering grazing, hunting and livestock leases will be held in June in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Fort Worth and Amarillo.

Texas A&M Agrilife photo by Steve Byrns

The free workshops will be hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and funded by the Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center, said Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist in Amarillo.

“Although leasing of land for grazing and hunting, as well as leasing of livestock, is prevalent across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, many people continue to do business on a person’s word and a handshake,” Dowell Lashmet said. “This type of business arrangement is wrought with risk for both the landlord and the tenant.”

Programs will be:

– June 1, 1-4 p.m., Wes Watkins Center on the Oklahoma State University campus, 207 Watkins Farm Road, Stillwater, Oklahoma.

– June 3, 1-4 p.m., Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association headquarters in the Brand Room, 1301 W. 7th St., Fort Worth.

– June 23, registration at 9:30 a.m., program from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 6500 W. Amarillo Blvd., Amarillo. Lunch will be sponsored by Plains Land Bank.

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

“We will discuss the potential legal implications of failing to have a sufficient written lease, and discuss 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.

Joining Dowell Lashmet on the programs according to locations will be Dr. Shannon Ferrell, Oklahoma State University agricultural law professor, Stillwater; and AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agents Austin Voyles, Potter County, and Fred Hall, Tarrant County.

“We consistently get snippets of questions regarding the structure of a lease,” Voyles said. “This innovative program is designed to answer broad and detailed questions in order to better educate both landlord and lessee.”

“It’s not that someone has to win in the negotiation, it’s that the lease needs to meet the needs of both sides of the negotiation,” Hall said.

Those planning to attend any of the workshops should RSVP by May 30 to Kim Garcia at 806-677-5626 or kim.garcia@ag.tamu.edu. Producers planning to attend the Fort Worth workshop may also RSVP online at http://agrilife.org/urbantarrantag/program-registration.