U.S. cattle ranchers have exhibited remarkable resilience in adversity this year, but not without practice from previous years. While meat processing consolidation and price manipulation existed within the industry prior to COVID-19, recent events have brought these discrepancies into the public eye and instigated change to strengthen our domestic food supply chain against further disruption.

One of the first steps anyone owning or leasing land should take is securing adequate liability insurance. Liability insurance offers critical protection in the event someone is injured on the insured’s property.

Even though ranching mostly deals with cattle and land, dealing with people – relatives, neighbors, the government – is unavoidable and can be a lot more complicated. During Texas A&M’s virtual Beef Cattle Short Course, three ag lawyers created a presentation to help ranchers get a handle on some common legal issues.

In recent years, the Clean Water Act has been the subject of a tug of war between environmentalists, industry, regulators and politicians.

Whether you are the landowner or the renter, sound legal advice is an “insurance policy” for both sides of a leasing arrangement, says Ed Cox, an attorney with the Iowa law firm of Craver, Grothe & Cox, LLP.

Many livestock and horse owners around the country are concerned over potential liability if someone gets injured during a horse or livestock activity.

Oprah Winfrey was famous a few years back for giving away a car to each member in her audience. This was likely considered a gift by Oprah to everyone, and most ranchers would think she had to pay a large amount of gift tax.