Earlier this year, my friend and Texas A&M University alum, Cari Rincker, invited me to join her on her new show, Ag Law Today.  Cari and I had a video interview about one of my favorite topics, grazing leases. From why leases should be put in writing to what key terms landowners to consider, I enjoyed the chance to chat with Cari about these important considerations for landowners and livestock producers. To listen to the episode, click here.

August is here, which means that the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service has published its survey results showing average cash rental rates by state.  Next month, they will issue their report breaking this information down within each state by region and county.  Stay tuned for that information the second week of September. The 2018 NASS report offers average rental rates for irrigated cropland, non-irrigated cropland and pastureland across the country.  Lands used for haying or CRP are considered to be cropland, rather than pastureland.  The 2018 results are… Read More →

Earlier this month, we hosted a Ranchers Agricultural Leasing Webinar focused on grazing and hunting leases.  We had a great turn out and many compliments on the program being useful and practical for landowners and producers. Pete Flores in the Ecosystem Science & Management Department was kind enough to handle all of the logistics, hosting duties, and he recorded the webinar for folks unable to attend. View recording here. This webinar was a (very) condensed version of our Ranchers Leasing Workshops that will be held this fall in… Read More →

I have received many calls recently inquiring about average land leasing rates across the state.  There are two major publications that offer this type of data to landowners.  In addition to the USDA NASS survey results I blogged about earlier this month, the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers publishes the Texas Rural Land Value Trends Report. This publication, which comes out each April, looks at land prices for the prior year across Texas, broken down into 7 regions and then into several sub-regions…. Read More →

With the fall comes opening day of several popular hunting seasons across the state.  For Texas landowners, this often means entering into hunting lease agreements that generate added income for the operation.  Under Texas law, a landowner leasing private property for hunting in return for any type of compensation is required to obtain a Hunting Lease License from Texas Parks and Wildlife  (“TPW”).  Note, this is separate from a hunting license that the hunter must possess. Under TPW rules, a private landowner or the landowner’s agent may not… Read More →

The USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service recently published the results for their nationwide cash lease survey.  The results are broken down by state and are drawn from producer/landowner survey responses collected earlier this year.  Importantly, while these statistics can offer a ballpark idea, keep in mind that lease rates are dependent on a number of facts like fence quality, pasture quality, livestock markets, etc.  Visiting with folks on the ground like other landowners, producers, and your County Extension Agent is always a great place to get accurate information… Read More →