Four agricultural leasing workshops covering grazing, hunting and livestock leases are scheduled across the state. The workshops will be hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

The positive response from the workshops in 2016 prompted AgriLife Extension to offer the programs in more locations, according to Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist in Amarillo.

“Last year, 100 percent of participants said they would recommend these programs to a friend, so we decided to offer them in more locations,” Lashmet said.

The programs will be:

1. Aug. 22: Noon-4 p.m.Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center1102 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1294, Lubbock

2. Sept. 1: 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.Hildebrand Equine Complex3240 F&B Road, College Station

3. Sept. 19: 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.Frio County AgriLife Extension office400 S. Pecan St., Pearsall

4. Oct. 19: 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.Tom Green 4-H Center3168 N. U.S. Highway 67, San Angelo

Lashmet said each workshop will address the legal risks associated with agricultural leases. The goal is to educate landowners and ranchers on the importance of using written leases as a risk management tool.

“We will discuss the potential legal implications of failing to have a sufficient written lease and the potential legal issues and litigation that the development of written leases can help avoid,” Lashmet said. “The workshops will also familiarize participants with key terms and provisions that should be considered in lease negotiations.”

Participants will receive a leasing handbook that covers legal issues, landowner liability, designing lease payment structures and calculating payments, as well as checklists and sample lease forms for negotiating lease agreements.

Participants will need to RSVP at least one week before the meeting they will attend to Kim Garcia at 806-677-5626 or kim.garcia@ag.tamu.edu.

The free programs are funded by the Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center.