Category Archives: Leases

Questions from Tiffany’s Desk: What Statutory Protections Apply if Hunters Are Injured on My Land?

Question:  What statutory protections are available as a defense to a landowner if hunters are injured on my land? Answer:  With opening weekend for deer season right around the corner, this is a great and timely question. There are two main statutes that could apply in this situation:  Texas Recreational Use Statute and Texas Agritourism Act.  As you will see, there are many situations, including hunting, where both statutes may be an available defense if someone is injured. Recreational Use Statute The Texas Recreational Use statute provides that a… Read More →

2021 USDA NASS Cash Rent Report Available

Each year, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service conducts a nationwide survey to gather data and compile a report showing average cash rental rates across the United States. To view the database with the data for each state, click here.  To view the database with data for each county in the US, click here.  To view the report for Texas, broken down by region and county, click here.  Please note that all reported cash rent amounts are listed in a per acre/per year format. Here’s how things broke… Read More →

Hunting Lease Resources

With this being the opening weekend of dove season and with deer season coming up soon here in Texas, I’ve gotten a lot of questions and interview requests about hunting leases.  We’ve got a variety of resources–many free–that offer great information for landowners interested in allowing others to hunt on their land.  I thought it might be useful to write a post just outlining and providing links to those various resources in one place. With regard to the two handbooks mentioned below, I’ve linked the free PDF versions,… Read More →

2020 Texas Rural Land Value Trends Report Released

One of the most useful resources for rural Texas landowners is the annual Rural Land Value Trends Report published by the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.  The 2020 Report was recently released. This report breaks Texas into seven regions and then each region is broken into smaller sub-regions.  The report then offers information regarding land prices and leasing rates for various types of property from irrigated cropland to rangeland to CRP land.  Additionally, this is the only publication I am aware… Read More →

Newly Designed Ranchers Agriculture Leasing Handbook Available

Thanks to the hard work from our Digital Education Team at Texas A&M, we are excited to show you our newly designed Ranchers Agriculture Leasing Handbook.  While the content is almost completely the same as the prior version, this new publication is significantly improved from a design standpoint. This handbook is written for landowners or tenants interested in learning more about lease agreements, including how to set a price, what terms should be considered, and more.  The handbook focuses on grazing, hunting, and livestock leases.  There is also… Read More →

2020 USDA NASS Cash Rental Rate Survey Results Published

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service recently published their 2020 Cash Rental Rate Survey results.  This report provides average cash rental rates by state and by county for irrigated cropland, non-irrigated cropland, and pastureland. Keep in mind these numbers are merely averages based on survey responses provided to USDA.  The lease rate for a particular property will depend on a number of factors such as the quality and quantity of grass, health of the soil, the existence of and quality of fences, access to water, brush situation, average… Read More →

2019 Rural Land Value Trends Report

Each year, the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers publishes the Texas Rural Land Value Trends report.  This document provides helpful, interesting information for Texas landowners on both average property value and lease rates for agricultural land across the state.  They recently released their 2019 report.  [Click here to download.] The average price per acre in Texas increased by 6.4% from last year to $2,972/acre.  The publication divides the state into 7 regions, and then further divides each region into sub regions. … Read More →

Online Ranchers Leasing Workshop Course Available!

We are so excited to announce that we are now offering our award-winning Ranchers Leasing Workshop as an online course! In the Online Ranchers Leasing Workshop, participants will be able to obtain all of the information shared at our half-day leasing workshop from the comfort of their own home, anytime, at their own pace by watching Tiffany Lashmet and Dr. Greg Kaase present on video. The course is designed for both landowners and lessees and focuses specifically on grazing, hunting and livestock leases. Tiffany presents on the various… Read More →

March 20, 2020 Weekly Round Up

Well…a lot has happened since our last Weekly Round Up.  Currently, all of my programs scheduled through March 31 have been postponed, including our Ranchers Leasing Workshop in Abilene.  We have also postponed our Ranchers Leasing Workshop scheduled in La Vernia.  I will ensure that my “Upcoming Presentations” page remains up to date, so to check on the status of any program, click here.  We are working on some online programs, including our online Ranchers Leasing Workshop which is now available! [Click here for online workshop.] Here are… Read More →

January 10, 2020 Weekly Round Up

We’re here with our first Round Up of 2020!  We hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  Here are a few of the ag law stories in the news over the past couple of weeks. *Man arrested for hauling marijuana, turns out it was legal hemp.  The Texas Tribune recently published a story about a man who was arrested for hauling what authorities suspected as being marijuana.  After testing was completed, it turns out that the plants were, as the man claimed, legal hemp.  [Read article here.]  A… Read More →