Lawsuits, Disaster Declaration After PFAS Contaminates Farms in Johnson County, Texas

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Farmers in Johnson County, Texas are in the epicenter of litigation surrounding alleged PFAS contamination of agricultural land, water, and livestock.  There are now two pending lawsuits, and the County has declared a state of emergency. Background Plaintiffs James Farmer, Robin Alessi, Patsy Schultz, and Tony and Karen Coleman are farmers in Johnson County, Texas. Defendant, Synagro Tech, produces a biosolid fertilizer, Granulite.  Plaintiffs allege Synagro has contracts with more than 1,000 municipal wastewater facilities across the country, including with the City of Ft. Worth. The Complaint alleges… Read More →

February 21, 2025 Weekly Round Up

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It has been a frigid week here in Texas.  We hope everyone has stayed safe and warm.  Here are some of the agricultural law stories from around the country. * Final Corporate Transparency Act injunction lifted; reporting requirement back in place with March 21 deadline.  The rollercoaster ride continues.  On Monday, a federal judge in Texas lifted the final nationwide injunction pausing the Corporate Transparency Act reporting requirements for entities around the country.  This means that entities are required to report their beneficial ownership information to FinCEN.  On… Read More →

Recent Podcasts and Interviews

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Hello from a very chilly 7 degree day in the Texas Panhandle!  Today, we are going to share a couple of articles I have written and interviews I have done lately. Basically Famous Podcast Many of you know Tyler Schuster, the host of the Basically Famous podcast.  She asked me to be a guest on her show to chat about my life and career, some lessons I have learned along the way, mentorship, and more.  You can listen to our conversation here. Ag industry sees legal changes in… Read More →

2025 Federal Estate and Gift Tax Limits

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Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) announced the 2025 estate and gift tax exemption amounts.  Generally speaking, these amounts change slightly each year, and are an important consideration in a person’s estate planning process. Background As we have discussed numerous times on this blog and our Ag Law in the Field Podcast, Congress sets an amount of assets that a person is allowed to give during their lifetime or at death without incurring estate or gift tax liability. This is known as the lifetime exemption.  The IRS adjusts… Read More →

February 7, 2025 Weekly Round Up

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We are back with another weekly round up of agricultural law news from around the country. * Texas law requires confirming homestead exemption status every 5 years. A new law, passed in 2023, requires appraisal districts in Texas to determine eligibility for a homestead exemption every 5 years. Appraisal districts will do this by sending out a letter seeking confirmation of homestead status.  It is critical that homeowners do not ignore this letter! [Read article here.] *Senate agriculture committee advances nomination of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture.  A… Read More →

The Beef Checkoff and Direct Beef Sales

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An important issue for direct beef sales businesses to consider is the payment of the Beef Checkoff assessment. The national Beef Checkoff program was established through the Beef Promotion and Research Act as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The Beef Checkoff aims to build demand for beef and beef products, both domestically and internationally, through initiatives such as consumer advertising, marketing partnerships, public relations, education, research, and new product development. In 2014, Texas cattle producers voted to pass a state Beef Checkoff that works specifically for in-state… Read More →

Wildfire: Preparing the Ranch

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We are excited to announce the release of our most recent publication, Wildfire: Preparing the Ranch.   I was thrilled to be asked to join as a co-author on this handbook, which was primarily drafted by Dr. Morgan Treadwell, one of the nationwide experts on fire and rangelands. Our goal is to provide Texas landowners with practical information and tools to prepare for wildfires and to know what steps to take to protect their property, livestock, belongings, and people should a wildfire occur.  Having had to evacuate livestock… Read More →

January 24, 2025 Weekly Round Up

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It has been quite the week with much of the country facing cold temperatures and snow!  Beyond the weather-related news, there were a number of important ag law stories as well. * SCOTUS weighs in on Corporate Transparency Act reporting; a nationwide injunction remains in place.  The litigation surrounding the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act continued this week.  On Thursday, the United States Supreme Court lifted the nationwide injunction in Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland.  [Read article here.]  Although that stay is no longer in place, there was… Read More →

Enrollment Periods for Crop and Dairy Safety-Net Programs Announced

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The United States Department of Agriculture announced the enrollment periods for key farm safety-net programs.  The enrollment period for ARC (Agriculture Risk Coverage) and PLC (Price Loss Coverage) will run from January 21 – April 15.  For the DMC (Dairy Margin Coverage) program, dairy producers will have from January 29 – March 31 to enroll. ARC/PLC Producers who have land with base acres of covered commodities likely qualify to enroll in either ARC or PLC.  These programs offer financial assistance to producers.  ARC provides payments when a farm’s… Read More →

Court Finds Surface Owner Unable to Enforce Burial Provision in Oil and Gas Lease

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A recent Amarillo Court of Appeals opinion in Unitex WI. LLC v. CT Land and Cattle Co., LLC, raises important questions of the enforceability of surface protections in an oil and gas lease. Background CT Land and Cattle Co., LLC (“CT”) owns the surface interest in a ranch.  It purchased this interest in 2013.  There were a number of oil and gas wells and corresponding pipelines on the ranch at this time.  Unitex WI, LLC and Unitex Oil and Gas, LLC (collectively “Unitex) maintains at least some of the wells… Read More →