By Julie Tomascik
Editor

Farmers, ranchers and rural landowners can learn more about agricultural laws, leases and direct-to-consumer marketing through several Texas A&M AgriLife Extension workshops this fall.

Three workshops aim to cover many questions farmers, ranchers and rural landowners may have and will provide guidance on key legal issues related to their property.

“It’s important to take the time to make sure that—as farmers, ranchers and landowners—you are educated on the simple things you can do to protect yourself and your property,” said Tiffany Dowell-Lashmet, J.D., AgriLife Extension agriculture law specialist. “Our goal with these workshops is to be practical and give folks really useful information they can take home tomorrow and put to work on their farm or ranch.”

Owning Your Piece of Texas
The Owning Your Piece of Texas workshop will cover key agricultural law issues, such as oil and gas law, water law, landowner liability, fence law and eminent domain, among others.

“I think that this workshop gives folks a really good background just to be aware of some of the issues that can come up,” Dowell-Lashmet said. “There’s a lot of steps a person can take to protect their operation, and I think this gives folks a good chance to get some background knowledge and be proactive.”

Dates and locations for the fall 2023 workshops are:

  • 25 in Rosenberg
  • 26 in Emory

Registration for the workshop is $75 and can be completed online at https://tx.ag/opt23.

All attendees will receive a hard copy of the Owning Your Piece of Texas: Top Laws Texas Landowners Need to Know handbook.

Ranchers Leasing Workshop
The Ranchers Leasing Workshop will cover the legal and economic issues surrounding grazing, hunting and livestock leases.

Topics addressed include average cash lease rates, common payment structures, legal issues and key terms to be included in lease agreements. In addition, the workshop will cover steps that can be taken to shield a landowner and tenant from potential liability for injuries.

The workshop is set for Sept. 13 at the Conference Center in Decatur. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Registration is $50 and can be completed online at https://tx.ag/rlw23.

Each participant will receive a copy of the Ranchers Agricultural Leasing Handbook with checklists and sample lease language.

This is the last workshop for fall 2023, and next year’s workshop dates and locations will be made available later this year.

Where’s the Beef?
The Where’s the Beef workshop will cover the legal and economic issues for ranchers interested in direct beef sales.

Topics that will be covered include: necessary permits, budgeting, calculating breakeven costs, selecting a slaughter facility and liability considerations, among others.

The program will conclude with a panel of producers currently engaged in direct beef sales.  These producers will answer questions from the audience and share their insights, tips and lessons they’ve learned in their beef sales businesses.

“I think for a lot of folks that’s really the most useful part of the program is to kind of hear the lessons they learned the hard way, the do’s and don’ts, things like that from folks who are actually doing it,” Dowell-Lashmet said.

The workshop is set for Sept. 12 at the Conference Center in Decatur. The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Registration is $100 and can be completed online at https://tx.ag/WheresTheBeefDecatur.

This workshop is not currently available online, but ranchers are able to download a free handbook online.

More information
The Owning Your Piece of Texas program and Ranchers Leasing Workshop, as well as others offered by AgriLife, are available online in self-paced courses at agrilifelearn.tamu.edu.

For more information about agricultural laws, visit Dowell-Lashmet’s blog at agrilife.org/texasaglaw.

Additional resources for farmers and ranchers are available from Texas Farm Bureau at texasfarmbureau.org/advocacy/small-farm-ranch.