We are coming up on the one-year anniversary of the Ag Law in the Field Podcast!  Thanks to all of you who have listened on your phone’s podcast app, on iTunes, and on your computer.  Every episode is me interviewing an attorney about an agricultural law issue and.

In case you may have missed them, here is a rundown of the most recent episodes, numbers 21-30 of the Ag Law in the Field Podcast, along with links to the website and show notes for each one as well.   [If you missed the recap of Episodes 1-10, click here and for the recap of Episodes 11-20, click here.]

Remember, I am always happy to take suggestions for topics of interest, so feel free to shoot me some ideas!

Episode 21:  Texas Groundwater Law (Doug Caroom).  Water law is a huge topic in the Lone Star State.  On this episode, Austin-based water attorney, Doug Caroom, joined us to talk about Texas’ approach to groundwater.  From an overview of the law to discussing many of the key cases that helped to develop the law such as Day v. Edwards Aquifer Authority, this episode is a must-listen to anyone interested in water law and policy.

Episode 22:  Texas Surface Water Law (Carlos Rubenstein).  Former Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Commissioner and former Chairman of the Texas Water Development Board, Carolos Rubenstein, graciously agreed to be on the podcast to discuss surface water law in Texas.  We discuss the legal definition of surface water, how the prior appropriation doctrine works in Texas, the role of watermasters and much more.  Additionally, we discuss a number of hot-button legal disputes related to surface water such as Texas v. New Mexico, LCRA curtailment of water rights, and The Aransas Project v. TCEQ.  We also hit on several important policy issues.

Episode 23: Class Action Litigation (Chuck Peifer).  With major agricultural class action litigation going on around the country, such as the Syngenta MIR-162 lawsuits and dicamba drift litigation, my former boss and New Mexico-based attorney Chuck Peifer joined us on the show to discuss the nuts and bolts of class action lawsuits.  Having represented both class members and defendants in various class action lawsuits, Chuck is a wealth of knowledge on this topic.  He walks us through the purposes of class actions, the requirements for a class to be certified, and the nuts and bolts of how these lawsuits and the claims processes play out.

Episode 24: 2017 Ag Law Year in Review (Paul Goeringer).  What better way to celebrate the New Year than looking back on the major ag law issues of the past 365 days.  From Syngenta to dicamba, WOTUS to “Ag Gag,” air emissions reporting to the Endangered Species Act, my friend Paul Goeringer and I discuss it all!

Episode 25:  “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” Overview (Kristine Tidgren).  We kicked off our 2018 podcasts with a big one!  Kristine Tidgren of Iowa State University’s Center for Ag Law and Taxation joined us to break down the impact of the tax reform bill on agricultural producers.  She walks through a number of provisions–both personal and business related–that will likely affect those of us involved in agriculture with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Episode 26:  Regulatory Takings (Jesse Richardson).  My friend and West Virginia University School of Law Professor Jesse Richardson is back on the podcast to talk about one of his favorite topics, regulatory takings.  Can a regulation impair a person’s property right such that a taking occurs and just compensation is owed under the Constitution?  It sure can, and Jesse walks us through all the different legal issues surrounding this important topic.

Episode 27: Dicamba (Kelly Nuckolls Winslow). Dicamba was the biggest legal issue in 2017.  From drift complaints the EPA labeling modifications, to class action litigation filed in numerous states, Kelly Winslow from the University of Maryland Extension is here to talk through all of the background and legal issues surrounding this herbicide.

Episode 28: Easements & Landlocked Property (James Decker).  One of our most popular podcast guests is back on the show to talk about a popular topic in coffee shops around Texas.  There is some folklore floating around that as a Texas landowner, a person cannot be landlocked and must be granted access to his or her property.  Not so, says Stamford-based attorney James Decker.  He shares stories of some of his own landlocked clients and walks us through the law related to gaining access to one’s own property.

Episode 29:  WOTUS Update (Jim Bradbury).  A year ago, Jim Bradbury was one of our first guests on the show talking about the “Waters of the United States” rule promulgated by the EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers and the legal issues flowing therefrom.  Now, he’s back to give us an update.  And while there have been significant developments to share, a number of lawsuits and uncertainty remain.  As Jim says on the show, “WOTUS may be French for employing lawyers.”

Episode 30:  CERCLA Air Emissions Reporting & Agriculture (Jim Bradbury).  This episode makes Jim our first back-to-back guest and our first three-time appearance.  He joined us on the show to discuss the air emissions requirement that was about a month away from affecting an estimated 200,000 livestock producers in the United States.  About three days after this episode aired, Congress included language in the Omnibus Spending Bill that enacted an exemption from reporting requirements for emissions from animal waste.  That said, this is a great episode and gives good background of the idea of reporting air emissions from manure.