Monthly Archives: October 2016

Amarillo Court of Appeals Considers Farm Lease Case

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The Amarillo Court of Appeals’ decision issued in Arriola v. Kutscherousky, a case involving a farm lease, offers an interesting discussion of legal issues surrounding co-ownership of land and the alleged breach of a farm lease. Background When their father died, three siblings, Robynn, Jack, and Raven, inherited the family farm.  Each was given an undivided one-third interest in the farmland.  Robynn decided to live on the property, a decision supported by her siblings/co-owners.  Her husband, Joey, met with a prospective tenant of the land in May 2011.  The… Read More →

Questions from Tiffany’s Desk: What Are the Stray Livestock Rules?

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Question:  What are the rules if stray livestock shows up on my property?  Can I keep them? Answer:  The popular adage “finders keepers, losers weepers” may apply on the playground, but it does not apply when it comes to stray livestock. The Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 142 deals with procedures regarding stray livestock, exotic livestock, bison, and foul.  The rules apply not only to the owner of the land on which the strays have wandered, but also to a lessee, occupant, or caretaker of such land. Reporting Stray… Read More →

October 21, 2016 Weekly Round Up

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Welcome to this week’s Weekly Round Up.  This will be the last weekly round up post for a couple of months as my family will be adding a little one next week and I will be out of the office on maternity leave.  I’ve got regular weekly posts scheduled throughout my absence, so please continue to check back and keep up with the Texas Agriculture Law Blog!  We will continue the Weekly Round Up posts again in January. * Basic overview of Texas landowner liability law.  My friend… Read More →

Wind Leasing Resources

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I’ve gotten a few calls recently from landowners seeking resources on wind leases.  I have not written anything on this topic, but for good reason.  My friend and colleague at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Shannon Ferrell, is the wind energy guru and he literally wrote the book on wind leasing for landowners. To access your free copy of the Wind Energy Leasing Handbook, click here.  Additionally, thanks to Shannon’s technological genius, he also has a video of a wind leasing presentation he gave to a group of landowners a… Read More →

Know Your State’s Landowner Liability Statutes

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I recently wrote an article for Progressive Cattleman discussing the importance of landowners being aware of the various landowner liability statutes that exist in their state. All 50 states have at least one (most states have multiple) statute that offers limited liability to landowners in the event someone is injured on their property, so long as certain requirements are met.  The National Agricultural Law Center has a collection of various statutes for each state in their Reading Room.  For those of you in Texas, I published a legal… Read More →

October 14, 2016 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Friday!  We’re almost halfway through October…not sure where the time goes.  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. *Deadline coming soon for Pasture, Range, and Forage insurance.  November 15 is the deadline to sign up for Pasture, Range and Forage (“PRF” also commonly called “rainfall”) insurance.  This insurance is essentially a way for farmers and ranchers to insure a certain amount of rainfall and to recover an indemnity payment if actual rainfall in their area fall below that amount.  Land eligible is… Read More →

Questions from Tiffany’s Desk: Should we be worried about estate taxes?

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Question:  This one actually came from conversations with my own family, during which several family members raised concerns about having to pay federal estate taxes after the older generation of the family passed away and the farm was left to the younger generation.  Realizing how many misconceptions there are about the current status of the federal estate tax, I thought a blog post offering some basic information might be helpful. Answer:  For the vast majority of farm and ranch families (estimated at 98%), the federal estate tax will… Read More →

Texas A&M Law School Quiz Bowl Champions

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I want to take a moment and give a huge shout out to the Texas A&M University Law School team on winning the 2016 American Agricultural Law Association Quiz Bowl.  Team members are Stephanie Bradley Fryer, Tave Doty, and James Nichols. When I taught the first agricultural law course at the TAMU law school in 2014, I was really impressed with the quality of students.  That has certainly continued over the years.  Very proud of this group and encourage all of you looking for good new associates for… Read More →

October 7, 2016 Weekly Round Up

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Happy October!  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. * Supreme Court to consider landmark groundwater dispute between Mississippi and Tennessee.  A groundwater dispute in which Mississippi claims that Tennessee is over-pumping an aquifer that lays beneath both states will be considered by the United States Supreme Court.  [Read article here.] *Lots to think about before entering into a solar lease agreement.  The Texas Observer published an article this week discussing a number of considerations that landowners need to keep in mind when approached… Read More →

A Lesson from the Lyrics: Estate/Transition Planning Resources

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A couple of weeks ago, my friend and Stamford, Texas-based attorney James Decker shared a music video on Twitter.  His Twitter feed is semi-famous for sharing excellent info, so I gave “S Lazy H” by Corb Lund a listen.  And I was just blown away by the truthfulness of this song and the lessons that could be taken from the lyrics.  It is essentially a song about what happens when a farm/ranch transition from one generation to the next goes wrong. Click here to listen to “S Lazy… Read More →