Your Team of Legal Experts
Rules, regulations, guidelines, laws. Spend enough time farming and you’ll understand just how complex seemingly simple things can sometimes be. Thankfully, as a Michigan Farm Bureau member, you have resources and helpful experts you can count on to point you in the right direction when you have a legal question.
Take Root Conference
Looking for help navigating the transition of a family farm business to the next generation? Take Root Conference, a statewide farm succession and estate planning event, will return in 2026. Keep an eye on the Take Root page for more updates.
Lease Agreements
Passive income generated by third-party, non-farming use of your property can be a great way to cover property taxes and other expenses. From hunting leases to solar land use agreements and wind lease easements, we have information to get you started.
An Introduction to Renting Farmland from MSU Extension
MSU Extension has published a helpful bulletin providing a good summary of issues to consider when renting farmland.
The summary also provides links to these additional resources:
Cash Rent Leases
- Cash Farm Lease (North Central Farm Management Extension Committee, 2011)
- Land Rental Issue checklist (Michigan State University [MSU] Extension, 2012)
- Landlord Farm Land Rental Worksheet (MSU Extension, 2008)
- Iowa Farm Lease (a cash rent with bonus agreement) (Iowa State University, Revised 2016)
- Flexible Farm Lease Agreements (Iowa State University, Revised 2021)
Crop Share Leases
- Crop Share Rental Agreements for Your Farm (North Central Farm Management Extension Committee, 2011)
- Illinois Crop-Share Cash Farm Lease (University of Illinois Extension, farmdoc, 2006)