It has been another busy couple of weeks in the agricultural law world.  Here are some of the stories in the news.

Photo by Matthew Lancaster on Unsplash

*Important property tax deadlines approaching for Texas landowners.  Don’t forget there are important property tax deadlines this month for many Texas landowners receiving open space tax valuation. This includes filing an application for ag use, open space, or wildlife management valuation, changing land from open space to wildlife management use, and any new purchasers of land who intend to continue receiving open space valuation. [Read more here.] We’ve also got a great podcast episode with Cassie Gresham talking special use tax valuation here.

*Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson appointed to US Supreme Court.  The Senate has confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court.  Judge Brown Jackson will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, for whom she served as a law clerk, when he retires in June. [Read article here.]

*USDA announces ELRP payments to livestock producers facing drought.  The USDA announced additional disaster aid for livestock producers in the form of the Emergency Livestock Relief (ELRP) program.  Payments will be calculated using the 2021 Livestock Forage Disaster Program payments and will automatically be sent to producers who qualify.  Additional sign up is not required.  Many producers began receiving payments last week.  Additional assistance for row and specialty crop farmers will also be forthcoming. [Read article here.]

*Lessons from Enlist registration.  Emily Unglesbee has written a great article discussing the lessons that can be taken from what she describes as a “rollercoaster” surrounding the Enlist registrations over the past couple of months.  [Read article here.]  Emily was previously a guest on my Ag Law in the Field Podcast to talk about pesticide and herbicide hot topics.  To listen, click here.

*Updates on truth in labeling law litigation.  The National Agricultural Law Center recently published a post outlining a number of lawsuits challenging Truth in Labeling laws. [Read article here.]  This was precipitated by a federal court in Louisiana holding the state’s “Truth in Labeling of Food Products Act” unconstitutional as violating the First Amendment.  [Read Order here.]

*Which life events require an immediate estate plan update?  My friend, Cari Rincker, recently published a blog post answering this question.  [Read post here.]  In addition to updating  your plan after any of these major life events, I also always recommend a yearly review of your plan just to be sure there aren’t any other changes that need made.

Upcoming Programs

Next week, Dr. Justin Benavidez and I are doing a FREE one-hour webinar on legal and economic issues related to direct beef sales that will be hosted by the National Ag Law Center.  The webinar will be at 11 am CST on Wednesday, April 20.  To register, click here.

For those of you who want a much more detailed dive into this topic, we will be hosting two day-long live programs later this year.  Again, both will be free, but registration will be required. The first will be in Amarillo on June 17.  To register, click here.  The second will be in Brenham on August 26.  Registration for that program will be coming soon.

To see a complete list of my upcoming programs, click here.