In what feels a bit like watching a game of ping pong, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an Order on December 26, 2024 reinstating the injunction preventing the Corporate Transparency Act’s beneficial ownership reporting requirement from going into effect. Timeline Let’s look at a timeline to try and get our bearings. You will remember that in January 2024, we began alerting people to this new federal law that would require most entities that are created by filings with the Secretary of State… Read More →

**UPDATE:  On December 26, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reinstated the injunction pending consideration of the appeal.  Thus, the January reporting deadlines are no longer in place. Read more here.** Santa Claus is not the only one working on Christmas Eve!  Last night, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order in Texas Top Cop Shop, LLC v. Garland staying the lower court’s injunction and reinstating the beneficial ownership reporting deadline under the Corporate Transparency.  [Read Order here.]… Read More →

Over the past few months, I have done a number of recorded presentations and interviews.  We have collected those in one place for you to watch and/or listen below. Farm & Ranch Estate Planning Presentation – Tarrant County Women in Agriculture A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to talk farm and ranch estate planning basics with at a program for women hosted by Tarrant County AgriLife Extension.  To watch, click here. If you are interested in a more in-depth discussion of these same topics, check… Read More →

**UPDATE**  In June 2024, a federal judge issued an injunction in this case prohibiting USDA from making ERP 2022 payments utilizing the “socially disadvantaged” category to increase payments to qualifying producers.  Read more here. A group of Texas farmers recently filed suit against the United States Department of Agriculture claiming that the USDA improperly discriminated against them in administering various disaster and pandemic relief programs. Plaintiffs in Strickland v. USDA challenge the USDA’s disparate treatment for certain producers based upon race and sex. The Plaintiffs assert that the USDA violated… Read More →

The damage and devastation left in the wake of the Panhandle wildfires is unimaginable and will continue to impact landowners, agricultural producers, families, and communities for years to come. As those impacted begin to rebuild, there are resources available to help. USDA Programs There are a number of programs through the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) that may be available to assist producers who have suffered losses of land, livestock, and fences due to the fires. We have a podcast episode and video walking… Read More →

Did you know we host three different live programs around the state of Texas every year?  We’ve already kicked off our 2024 schedule with a great event in Tyler.  Below, please find all of our upcoming 2024 events. Note that both the Owning Your Piece of Texas programs and Ranchers Leasing Workshops offer CE credit for real estate agents.  To see more information or to register for any of these events, click below. San Angelo Owning Your Piece of Texas San Angelo Ranchers Leasing Workshop San Marcos Owning… Read More →

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston recently ruled on a case regarding the jurisdiction of the Texas Animal Health Commission and the regulation of white-tailed deer to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease.  [Read Opinion here.] Background RW Trophy Ranch (“RW”) is a deer breeding ranch in northeast Texas. It consists of a 68-acre deer breeding facility surrounded by a 1,500 acre ranch.  RW was certified under the Texas Animal Health Commission’s Texas Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program (“Program”).   The goal of the program is… Read More →

We have officially published our 1,000th blog post!  When I started writing the Texas Agriculture Law Blog ten and a half years ago, I never dreamed we would still be going strong with so many posts, readers, and sponsors.   It is one of my very favorite projects I get to do. To celebrate our 1,000th post and to say “thank you” to our readers, we are going to be doing four giveaways! Several of our friends who have helped as speakers at various programs have helped us source… Read More →