Federal Appellate Court Upholds Massachusetts Question 3 Animal Confinement Law

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The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently upheld a legal challenge to Massachusetts Question 3, an animal confinement statute similar to California’s Prop 12.  [Read Opinion here.] Background In 2016, Massachusetts voters passed Question 3, the Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals (“the Act”).  The Act applied to veal, poultry, and pork, but this case involved only the provisions related to pork production.  The Act prohibited the use of gestation crates on pig farms in Massachusetts.  Additionally, the law prohibited the sale of… Read More →

“Paid in Sweat, Secured by Planning”

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I was honored to do an interview with Laura Handke for an article she was writing on estate planning for Red Angus magazine.  Not only are Red Angus my favorite breed of cattle, a trait passed down to me from my grandmother, this is an extremely important topic for all farmers and ranchers to consider. Laura did a great job on this article, highlighting some of the key considerations for ag operations as they prepare an estate and succession plan. To read the article, click here and scroll… Read More →

October 10, 2025 Weekly Round Up

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*Federal court denies motion to dismiss in lawsuit over electronic ear tag requirement for cattle.  A federal judge in South Dakota has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by R-Calf and other agricultural groups challenging the USDA mandate requiring electronic ear tags for certain cattle and bison crossing state lines.  This means the lawsuit will proceed with discovery.  [Read article here.] *Federal appellate court upholds Massachusetts Question 3 law regarding animal confinement statutes.  The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently upheld the… Read More →

Is Witness to a Will Required to Know What the Signor is Signing?

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Does a witness to a will signing have to know what is being signed?  This was the question recently before the Amarillo Court of Appeals in In the estate of Chester Freeman Youngblood, deceased.[Read Opinion here.] Background The court summarized the case this way:  “This case has all the makings of a legal riddle:  two Debras, two wills, and one key question–does a witness to a will need to know it’s a will to validly witness the signing of it?” Chester Youngblood died in 2016 under the care of… Read More →

Permanent Increase to Estate Tax Lifetime Exemption

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Anytime I do an estate planning presentation, the topic of the federal estate tax is one on the minds of many in the audience.  In July, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act included an important provision permanently increasing an individual’s lifetime exemption to $15 million. Today, we are going to just hit the high notes of the estate tax and the change to the law included in the One Big Beautiful Bill.  For more information on the estate tax, click here for a podcast episode I did with… Read More →

Probate or Problems: Avoid Family Feuds with Estate Planning for Your Land

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I recently had the chance to join Mac and Wayne on their National Land Podcast to chat about the topic of estate planning.  We had a really fun conversation about things land owners should consider and mistakes we’ve seen in our careers.  You can listen here. If you are interested in farm and ranch estate planning in particular, we have lots of great resources!  Check out the Successful Succession video series I made in conjunction with Texas Corn Producers here.  We also have a playlist of our podcast… Read More →

September 12, 2025 Weekly Round Up

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It has been another couple of busy weeks for agricultural law news around the country.  Let’s get caught up. *Federal judge dismisses challenge to Texas’ new foreign ownership law.  A federal judge in the Southern District of Texas has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of SB 17, the law recently passed by the Texas Legislature prohibiting citizens, businesses and governments from certain countries from owning real property in Texas.  The court held that the plaintiffs, three Chinese citizens, lacked standing to bring their claims as they are… Read More →

Federal Court Upholds Air Emissions Exemption for Livestock & Poultry Operations

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I was honored to co-author (along with my friend, Paul Goeringer) the 1,000th article published by Southern Ag Today. Southern Ag Today is a collaboration between 12 universities across the South, including Texas A&M.  Each weekday, Southern Ag Today publishes a short article related to agricultural economics in the South.  If you are not subscribed, you are missing out!  You can get subscribed here by clicking on the green “subscribe” box on the righthand side of the screen. For article number 1,000, we focused on an EPA rule… Read More →

2025 USDA NASS Cash Rent Rates Published

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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.  These results are based upon the survey responses from landowners and producers around the country.  Please note that all reported cash rent amounts are listed in a per acre/per year format. 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. Pastureland The statewide average for… Read More →

August 29, 2025 Weekly Round Up

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We are here with our last weekly round up for the month of August.  Things have not slowed down in the world of agricultural law. *EPA extends comment period for dicamba registrations.  The EPA has extended the comment period on the three over-the-top dicamba registrations to September 6, 2025.  [Read article here.  Comment here.] *Texas’ most infamous groundwater lawsuits article published.  The Texas Water Resources Institute published a great article outlining Texas’ most infamous groundwater lawsuits.  If you’re into Texas water law, you don’t want to miss this! … Read More →