Monthly Archives: December 2017

Happy Holidays!

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From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and  Happy New Year!

2017 Ag Law Year in Review – Texas

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{If you missed our post from Monday outlining the major legal developments for 2017 on the federal level, click here.}  Today, we will turn our attention to Texas and look at some of the major issues impacting agricultural law during the past year. Parties reach settlement in Red River boundary dispute. The dispute between landowners and the federal government regarding the line where private property ends and federal property begins along the Red River was extremely heated and received a great deal of media coverage.  When BLM agents… Read More →

2017 Ag Law Year in Review – Federal

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2017 has been a busy year on the agricultural law front.  From WOTUS to “ag gag,” Syngenta to Dicamba, there has been no shortage of drama this year.  Here is a look at some of the most important issues on the federal level.  (A post outlining major issues in Texas is forthcoming.)  Paul Goeringer and I recorded a webinar discussing these issues as well, which can be found here. EPA heads back to the drawing board to re-draft WOTUS rule. Where to even start?  Readers likely remember back… Read More →

December 15, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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Happy Friday!  The last couple of weeks I made trips to Tulia and Miami for county extension programs, so welcome to those of you joining the blog.  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. *KUT writes interesting article on wind right severances.  Mose Buchele wrote an interesting article on a new issue of Texas landowners selling property but reserving wind rights.  This is a new phenomenon, which raises interesting legal and practical questions.  [Read article here.] *TCEQ will not appoint watermaster for San Saba… Read More →

Fact Sheet: Estimating Potential Capital Gains Tax Liability

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Capital gains tax liability can be a major issue for agricultural landowners that who are looking to sell property.  Determining the value on which taxes may be figured can be difficult, particularly when the land was inherited decades ago and the basis may not be known.  With this in mind, Dr. Terry Griffin, Assistant Professor of Ag Economics at Kansas State Univeristy and I put together a fact sheet to help landowners with this issue. Capital gains taxes are paid on the increase in value over time of certain… Read More →

Court Sides with New Mexico Cattle Ranchers in Water Dispute

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A federal court has sided with a group of New Mexico ranchers in a case involving a dispute over stock watering rights in the Lincoln National Forest. Background The US Forest Service (USFS) manages federally owned land within the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico.  As part of that management, since 1910, the USFS has issued grazing permits to ranchers to graze cattle on the federally owned forest land.  Each year the USFS determines the number of cattle that may be grazed on various portions of the forest,… Read More →

Correction to December 8, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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The link to the blog post from the Iowa State Center for Ag Law and Taxation that summarizes the Senate version of the tax reform bill was incorrect in the initial post.  Sorry for any inconvenience.  The link has been corrected on the original post and you can find the article by clicking here. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

December 8, 2017 Weekly Round Up

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Hello and welcome to another Friday!  Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week.  For those of you in the Panhandle, my last program of 2017 will be this Tuesday in Miami talking transition planning and agricultural leases.  Seating is limited, so if you are interested, RSVP to Michael at (806) 868-3191. * Colorado moves to dismiss lawsuit seeking rights for Colorado River, seeks sanctions against Plaintiffs’ attorney.  You may recall from this prior blog post that an environmental group filed suit in Colorado… Read More →

Do You Use The Twitter?

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Recently I’ve gotten several new followers over on Twitter, so I thought I’d invite any of you who are Tweet-ers to follow me as well.  You can find me there @TiffDowell.  My posts are primarily agricultural law-related, but sometimes cute pictures of my kiddos sneak in there as well.  Come follow along!

9th Circuit: Federal Reserved Water Rights Applies to Groundwater

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A landmark water ruling came out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit earlier this year.  This decision–that federal reserved water rights include groundwater–could have significant impacts on groundwater across the country, and in particular in the West. Background In the late 1800’s the federal government established a reservation (“the Reservation”) in California for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (“the Tribe”).  The Executive Orders creating the Reservation state that the purpose was for lands be set aside “as reservations for the permanent use and… Read More →