To wrap up 2021, let’s take a look back at the most popular blog posts and podcast episodes from the past year.

I also want to take a moment to thank our Texas Agriculture Law Blog sponsors for 2021:  Texas Corn Producers, Lone Star Ag Credit, and Capital Farm Credit.  If you can, please thank these groups for their support of this blog.

Finally, I want to thank all of you for reading this blog and supporting my program.  I really enjoy the work I get to do, and I always appreciate your kind words about how the information we put out have been helpful to you and your family. I’m looking forward to continuing the blog and podcast in 2022!

Wishing you all a happy holiday season!

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Top 5 Blog Posts

1. Amendments to Texas Farm Animal Liability Act Effective September 1.  This one does not surprise me given this is the topic on which I have received the most questions and given the most presentations this year.  If you are a horse, livestock, or honeybee owner in Texas, be sure you’ve read this post and gotten your Farm Animal Liability Act signs in place!

2. 2020 Texas Rural Land Value Trends Report Released.  Year in and year out, this is a blog post that is always popular.  If you are curious about the market value and rental value for rural land in Texas, this is the information you need.  Also, this is the only official publication I am aware of that publishes hunting lease rates for our state.

3. Questions from Tiffany’s Desk: What Signs Do I Need on My Farm/Ranch?  This is an extremely popular question, which is why I decided to devote an entire blog to it.  Learn about the various signs that farm and ranch owners should have on their property.  This is particularly important given the change to the Texas Farm Animal Liability Act discussed in #1 above.

4. Texas Water: Basics of Groundwater Law.  Interestingly, this is a blog post from 2013 that remains in the top 5 even 8 years later.  Without question, groundwater law is a critically important topic for Texas landowners.  If you’re interested in groundwater law in Texas, be sure to check out this podcast episode on basic groundwater law and this episode on Groundwater Conservation Districts.

5. Enhanced Life Estate Deeds (aka Lady Bird Deeds).  This post from last year falls into our 5th spot.  We did a really popular series looking at Lady Bird Deeds and Transfer on Death Deeds.  These are important estate planning tools of which people should be aware and discuss with an attorney.  To hear more about what these deeds are, how they work, and when they are beneficial, listen to this podcast episode with Garrett Couts.

Top 5 Podcast Episodes

It has been a big year for the Ag Law in the Field Podcast as we have seen download numbers greatly increase this year.  Thank you all for sharing this with your friends and family!

1. Episode #100 Thoughts from Tiffany’s Dad.  Well, your favorite episode was also my favorite episode!  I loved getting to chat with my Dad to celebrate our 100th podcast episode.  It was so fun to talk about our family’s history in agriculture and hear about some of the agricultural law issues he’s seen come up during his lifetime.

2. Episode #105 Heirs’ Property (Greg Phillips).  Heirs’ property is another important issue for many rural landowners.  Greg Phillips knows this area well–both because of his law practice and because of dealing with it on his own family land in East Texas.

3. Episode #103 Working with the FSA/NRCS Office (Stephanie Bradley Fryer).  As far as practical information goes, it’s no wonder this episode makes the top 5. Stephanie Fryer has dealt with the FSA and NRCS offices in a variety of capacities including as a producer, former County Executive Director, and a lawyer representing clients. She offers some great tips on how best to work with your local office.

4. Episode #108 Texas Oil and Gas Update (Parks Brown). Oil and gas is big business in Texas!  In this episode, Parks Brown gave us the rundown on the current state of the oil and gas market and some of the biggest oil and gas opinions in Texas this year.

5. Episode #110 2021 Texas Legislature Recap (J Pete Laney).  I always appreciate my friend, J Pete Laney, joining us after the Texas Legislative Session to give us a rundown on the key bills affecting agriculture.   (If you prefer to read instead of listen, check out this recap blog post I wrote for the Texas Agriculture Law Blog).