It has only been two weeks since our last Weekly Round Up, but there have been a number of major news items related to agricultural law! Photo by Dan Dennis  * Resources for producers and landowners impacted by Panhandle wildfires.  On Monday, we posted a blog with information for producers and landowners who suffered losses during the wildfires about resources available. We have continued to update that document as additional resources have been announced.  To read more, click here.  In particular, I want to highlight an announcement from USDA about $6 million in EQIP f ..read more

There has been no shortage of agricultural law news in the last two weeks!  Here are some of the biggest stories from around the country. *Court revokes over-the-top dicamba registration; EPA issues existing stocks order.  In a situation similar to what cotton and soybean growers faced in 2020, a federal court has revoked the FIFRA registration for three dicamba products, XtendiMax, Enginia, and Tavium.  [Read Order here.]  On Wednesday, the EPA issued an existing stocks order which will allow “existing stocks” that were in the United States and were “packaged, labeled, a ..read more

Last week, we discussed what a busy year it had been nationally for agricultural law.  To learn more, read here or listen here. This week, we are shifting our focus closer to home and looking at the biggest agricultural law issues in Texas this year. Photo by Micah Boswell on Unsplash Ownership of Produced Water  The question of who owns produced water in Texas is extremely important and will have major implications for landowners and oil and gas operators across the state.  At issue is ownership of “produced water,” the water that comes out of the ground with oil and gas dur ..read more

There have been a number of developments in key agricultural law issues around the country over the past couple of weeks.  From the Farm Bill to Right to Farm, WOTUS to water law, we’ll get you up to speed! Photo by Karl Wiggers on Unsplash *Texas voters pass Constitutional right to farm, other Constitutional amendments.  On November 7, Texas voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 1, which means that Texans now have a right to farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management in the State Constitution.  [Read more about Prop 1 language here and rea ..read more

The El Paso Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in Cactus Water Services, LLC v. COG Operating, LLC answering the question of who owns produced water resulting from oil and gas production in Texas. [Read Opinion here.] Photo by Documerica on Unsplash Produced Water Basics This case involves a question of the ownership of produced water. As explained in more detail below, this is water, along with a number of other substances, that travels to the wellbore in the fracing process.  To offer a bit of perspective on the scope of this issue, the Texas Tribune recently reported t ..read more

The United States Supreme Court has issued its Opinion in Sackett v. EPA, a case looking at the proper test to determine whether a wetland is jurisdictional under the Clean Water Act (CWA).  To hear my discussion on this case with our favorite law professors, Jesse Richardson and Anthony Schutz, click here.  To read a significantly shorter Q&A interview about the case I did with Progressive Cattle, click here. Photo by Brad Weaver on Unsplash Short Summary For those of you who have no interest in reading such a long description, here is a  short summary. The Court unanimo ..read more

Here are a few of the ag law stories in the news the past couple of weeks. Photo by Janice Carriger *North Dakota court issues injunction against Biden WOTUS rule in 24 states.  The judge hearing a WOTUS lawsuit filed by 24 states in North Dakota issued an injunction against the rule in each of those states.  [Read article here.]  In addition to the 24 states impacted by this injunction, remember that a Texas judge previously issued an injunction prohibiting the rule from going into effect in Texas and Idaho.  [Read article here.]  This leaves the nation in a situat ..read more

Each year, I am surprised by the number of agricultural law developments across Texas. This year is no exception, and I believe it may be the biggest year for agricultural law that I can remember in the Lone Star state.  If you missed our review of the biggest ag law stories on the national level, click here. Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash   High Speed Rail Has Eminent Domain Authority The Texas Supreme Court issued a divided opinion in Miles v. Texas Central Railroad & Infrastructure holding that Texas Central Railroad has the power to condemn land to build the prop ..read more

I always enjoy the chance to look back over the year and recap the biggest agricultural law developments.  There was certainly no shortage agricultural law happenings in 2022.  Today, we’ll look at the national agricultural law scene, and next Monday, we will focus specifically on Texas.  If you want to hear more about some of the biggest national ag law stories of the year, click here for a podcast episode I did with my friend, Paul Goeringer.  With that, let’s get started! Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Carbon Contracts The topic about which I have gotten the most ..read more

I apologize for missing our last weekly round up post.  We’re back today with lots of agricultural law news from around the country. Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing & Communications photo by Laura McKenzie *Settlement deadline looming in Texas v. New Mexico water lawsuit.  Michael Melloy has given Texas and New Mexico until September 23 to reach a settlement in the ongoing Texas v. New Mexico water lawsuit currently pending at the US Supreme Court.  If the parties fail to meet that deadline, the case is set to go to trial, set in Cedar Rapids, IA, in January.  ..read more