Monthly Archives: January 2021

January 29, 2021 Weekly Round Up

Posted on January 29, 2021 by tiffany.dowell

Happy Friday! It’s been a busy week here as I have been working with several of my colleagues in the Texas A&M Agricultural Economics Department on a series of educational videos on the legal and economic issues related to hemp production. If this is a topic of interest to you, be sure you subscribe to this blog as we will be releasing our videos and written materials within the next month! Here are some of the ag law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks…. Read More →

Case Addresses Solar Lease, Mineral Owner, and the Accommodation Doctrine

Posted on January 25, 2021 by tiffany.dowell

The El Paso Court of Appeals addressed an interesting and important issue recently in Lyle v. Midway Solar. How does Texas law apply when there is a potential conflict between the operation of a large scale solar facility and the ability of the mineral owner to extract oil or gas? Background This dispute involves a 315-acre tract of land in Pecos County. The Lyles own 27.5% of the mineral rights to this land by virtue of a 1948 deed. There is no current mineral lease on the property, and the… Read More →

Fence Law Webinar and Interview

Posted on January 18, 2021 by tiffany.dowell

Fence law is one of my favorite topics. If you own or lease land, this is likely a topic that interests you as well! I’ve recently had a couple of opportunities to chat about fence law and I wanted to share those with you. First, I was invited to present on Texas Fence Law for the TAMU AgriLife Extension Range Webinar Series. This presentation focuses specifically on fence law in the Lone Star State. To watch, click here. Second, I was a guest on my friend Cari Rincker’s… Read More →

January 15, 2021 Weekly Round Up

Posted on January 15, 2021 by tiffany.dowell

Happy 2021, friends! We hope you all had a happy, healthy holiday and we are excited to be back for our first Weekly Round Up of the year. Here are some of the major agricultural law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. * Lawsuit filed seeking to overturn recent dicamba registration. On December 22, several environmental groups filed suit against the US Environmental Protection Agency challenging the recent approval of the use of over-the-top dicamba products through 2025. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that the… Read More →

Annual Holiday “Waters of the United States” Update

Posted on January 11, 2021 by tiffany.dowell

This article was co-authored with Shannon Ferrell at Oklahoma State University. As readers have likely come to expect, holiday traditions include twinkle lights, tasty cookies, and another update on WOTUS from the agricultural lawyers. It really is the gift that keeps on giving us content for this annual article. The federal Clean Water Act prohibits discharges of pollutants to “waters of the United States” but when Congress passed the act in 1970, it failed to define the term. The past 50 years have left landowners, developers, policy… Read More →