Each year, we take a look back at our most popular content of 2024 across our various platforms.

Texas Agriculture Law Blog

Drumroll please…our top 5 most popular blog posts for 2024 are:

1. Renew Your Ag Timber Number Now!  Our most popular post for 2024 involved a January 1, 2024, deadline for Texas producers to renew their ag timber numbers.  Having an ag timber number allows producers and landowners to be exempt from paying sales taxes on the purchase of certain products used in the course of their agricultural or timber production.  These numbers expire every four years and must be renewed, which was the topic of this blog post.   The next required renewal deadline will be December 31, 2027.
2. Transferring Property Prior to Death: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives.  This blog post is an oldie but a goodie.  Although it was written four years ago, it deals with an issue that will always be important for farm and ranch families as they think through their estate and transition plan.  Should property ownership be transferred prior to death?  What alternatives exist to this approach?
3. Transfer on Death Deeds and Enhanced Life Estate Deeds (aka Lady Bird Deeds).  We are going to combine these two blog posts, both of which were on our top five list.  These posts explain two important estate planning tools, Transfer on Death Deeds and Lady Bird Deeds.  Both can be extremely useful to allow Texans to effectively transfer property at death, and as tools to assist with qualifying for assistance with long term care costs.  We also did a podcast on these tools with Garrett Couts, which you can find here.
4. Fence Boundary Dispute Involves Adverse Possession Claim. Finally, a blog post from 2024 has made the list!  This post discusses Best v. Thornton, a case involving claims of adverse possession when a barbed wire fence was built off the property line decades before.  It offers important reminders related to fence law and adverse possession law in Texas.
5. Texas Right to Farm Statute Overview.  A post about the Texas Right to Farm statue being in the top five is no surprise to me given the number of calls I received on this law this year.  This blog post offers a detailed explanation of the statute and the protections it offers to Texas agricultural operations.

We also thought it might be interesting to see which of our documents were the most downloaded this year.  That honor goes to two of our handbooks:  Where’s the Beef? Legal and Economic Considerations for Direct Beef Sales and our new Texas Landowner Border Law Handbook.

Ag Law in the Field Podcast

Here are our five most downloaded episodes of 2024.

1. #180 Shane Kiefer (Small Acreage Landowner Considerations)  Our most popular consideration this year was our discussion with Shane Kiefer from Plateau Land & Wildlife on small acreage landowner considerations.  It was a great discussion about what folks should consider when purchasing or owning properties.  From property taxes to fencing, surveys to leases, Shane brought extremely practical and important considerations.
2. #172 Garrett Couts (Top 10 Renewable Energy Lease Considerations for Landowners)  This topic being in the top 5 for the year is no surprise at all!  I’ve gotten phone calls from landowners across the state about wind and solar leases.  Garrett Couts joined me to offer his top ten considerations for landowners considering a renewable energy lease.
3. #174 Paul Neiffer (Top 10 Farm Tax Considerations)  Apparently people like top ten lists on the podcast!  Our third most popular episode featured Paul Neiffer walking through key tax considerations for farmers and ranchers.  I learned a couple of things from this episode that were not on my radar that helped with my own tax return!
4. #169 Robert Moore (Long Term Care Considerations for Farm & Ranch Families)  The topic of long term care planning is one every farm and ranch family should be thinking about.  Robert Moore from Ohio State University came on the podcast to offer some really practical considerations including how to estimate the cost of long term care and a calculator to help determine the best plan for your family.
5. #170 Amber Miller and Ashley Pirtle (Corporate Transparency Act Reporting)  The Corporate Transparency Act beneficial ownership reporting was one of the top agricultural law topics for 2024. In this episode, Amber and Ashley walked us through to whom these requirements apply, exactly what is required, and what they are telling clients about reporting.  Do note that since this episode, there has been a nationwide injunction put in place that pauses the reporting deadlines.  You can read more about that here.

Are you curious about our most listened to podcast episodes ever?  By far the most popular topic we have covered is landlocked property.  We’ve done two episodes on this topic, #28 with James Decker and #153 with Cassie Gresham!

Texas Agriculture Law YouTube Channel

We were excited to officially launch our Texas Agriculture Law YouTube Channel!  All of our top 5 most viewed videos came from our Where’s the Beef? video series.

1. 111 Beef Republic  Marissa shared her story of starting a direct beef sale business that includes shipping beef across the country, a partnership with local restaurants, and a brick and mortar storefront in Bridgeport, Texas.
2. Texas Department of State Health Services  This video is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to hear from Texas regulators about the requirements applicable to direct beef sales businesses in the Lone Star State.
3. Halo K Cattle  Max Krupp is an Army veteran, father, and grass-fed beef producer in Graham, Texas.  He was kind enough to share his insights into what it took to build a brand and business selling grass-fed wholes, halves, and quarters to customers in Texas.  Max is also a frequent participant in our panel and a crowd favorite at our live direct beef sales workshops.
4. Clint & Sons  Clint & Sons is a family owned processing facility in White Deer, Texas.  We chatted with their plant manager about his experience with producers getting started in direct beef sales, his tips for success, and what questions a person should ask a packing plant before using them for their direct sales business.
5. Burgundy Pasture Beef  This video features father-son duo Jon and Ben Taggart who have been in the direct beef sales business for over two decades.  They share a wealth of knowledge and stories from their experience.