Considerations in Land Application Leases

I recently wrote an article for the Indiana Agricultural Law Foundation Spotlight newsletter that focused on important considerations in land application agreements. These are the agreements used when a confined feeding operation ("CFO") applies manure to land not owned by the CFO. For example, a CFO may determine that it will produce more manure than it can legally apply to its own fields. The CFO can contract with a nearby landowner to apply excess manure to the landowner's fields. Here in our state, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management ("IDEM") has promulgated various regulations that control when and how much manure can be applied to the land.

A land application agreement should be carefully drafted to spell out the responsibilities of each party and the allocation of liability between the landowner and the producer who will be applying the manure. No one plans on an accidental release or runoff, but the agreement should include a section on how such a release will be addressed and who will be responsible for any resulting damages. For more information, link to the full Indiana Agricultural Law Foundation Spotlight newsletter article here.