the production of fi bers, fl oriculture, viticulture, hor- ticulture, or planting seed; domestic or native farm or ranch animals kept for use or profi t; or forestry and the growing of trees for the purpose of rendering those trees into lumber, fi ber or other items used for indus- trial, commercial, or personal consumption. The second requirement is the user enters property
for recreational purpose such as hunting, fi shing or hiking. Third, one of the following monetary stipula- tions must be met: • Landowner did not charge a fee • Fee charged by landowner did not exceed 20 times the amount of the ad valorum taxes paid during the last calendar year
• Landowner maintains adequate insurance cover- ing at least $500,000 for each person, $1 million for each occurrence and $100,000 for each occurrence of property damage Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 75A
contains the Texas Agritourism Act. This act states that an agritourism entity is not liable to an agritour- ism participant for injury damages if required signage is posted or a written agreement containing required language is signed (Figure 1). The act applies to all activities on agricultural land
for recreational or educational purpose, regardless of the amount charged. Defi nitions of agricultural land and recreational purpose are the same that apply to the Recreational Use Statute. Exceptions to the Texas Agritourism Act are found in Figure 2.
Mineral development Land can be severed into separate estates such as
minerals, surface, wind and groundwater. Oil, gas, salt, sulfur and uranium belong to the mineral estate, whereas gravel, caliche, surface shale, sand, limestone, groundwater, near surface coal, ignite and iron ore are considered part of the surface estate. Components of the estates can change with agree-
ment between parties. The Dominant Estate Rule in Texas states that be-
tween the surface and mineral estates, the mineral estate is dominant. This rule gives the mineral owner the right to use as much of the surface estate as is rea- sonably necessary to produce minerals. Under this rule drilling pads, roads, gathering lines
and disposal wells can be placed on the property. Use of groundwater, caliche and gravel can occur without permission or payment to a surface owner. It is criti- cal that landowners act to protect the surface estate
88 The Cattleman June 2016
Figure 1. Language required by the Texas Agritourism Act.
Sign must be clearly visible on or near premises where activity occurs.
Release language
AGREEMENT AND WARNING: I UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AN AGRITOURISM ENTITY IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INJURY TO OR DEATH OF AN AGRI- TOURISM PARTICIPANT RESULTING FROM AGRITOUR- ISM ACTIVITIES. I UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE ACCEPTED ALL RISK OF INJURY, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE AND OTHER LOSS THAT MAY RESULT FROM AGRIOURISM ACTIVITIES.
Release must be signed before activity, by participant or guardian, separate from any other agreement. The release must be in at least 10-point bold type.
by writing appropriate terms in the oil and gas lease or negotiating a separate surface use agreement. Helpful information is found in Petroleum Production on Agri- cultural Lands in the Texas Handbook. Pipeline easements are another area where landown-
ers need to negotiate terms that lessen the negative im- pact on the land. The fi rst step to take when approached for an easement is to determine if the company has the power of eminent domain. This helps a landowner to understand the strength of his or her bargaining power. It is also important that a landowner does not agree
to a blanket easement. For example, an easement that says, “ABC Company may place pipelines over a prop- erty,” includes no limitations on the location, width or number of lines. These types of blanket easements can cause serious
problems for landowners. Helpful information on ne- gotiating easement terms is found in Texas Landowner Bill of Rights and Texas Pipeline Easement Negotiation Checklist.
Fences and drones There are 2 approaches to fence law — open range
and closed range. On open range, landowners have no duty to fence in animals or prevent them from running loose on roadways. If an area is closed range, land- owners have an obligation to prevent animals from running at large.
See more at
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