Agricultural Law

This article provides detailed guidance for accessing the Illinois Compiled Statutes, Public Acts, and House/ Senate Bills available from the website of the Illinois General Assembly.

This article describes how to access federal statutes published in the United States Code (U.S.C.) and federal regulations published in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) using the Government Printing Office Access website.

Instructions for accessing Illinois General Assembly’s website for the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

For some farmers, making a charitable contribution in kind, rather than cash can increase the tax benefit of the gift. The tax consequences of the gift differs depending on whether the donor is an active farmer or a landlord.

This addendum can be used for either the Illinois Fixed Cash Lease Form or Illinois Crop-Share Farm Lease, or any other lease.

The purchase or sale of a business has distinct tax considerations that differ depending on the type of business entity. This material lists some considerations for the buyers and sellers of the business.

The lease form represents a basic model for an agricultural lease. The parties to the lease or their legal counsel may wish to consider modifications to better meet the needs of the particular landowner or tenant. Form is fillable PDF format.

A family limited partnership is a very attractive estate-planning tool because it permits a parent to significantly discount the value of gifts to children.? This material discusses the advantages and disadvantages of forming a family limited partnership.

This article describes the effect on a farm tenant?s lease when the Illinois farmland owner dies, becomes mentally incompetent, or sells the farm.

This material discusses the filing requirement for partnerships and LLCs that are taxed as partnerships. It defines those entities that are excluded from the partnership rules and discusses. how and when to make the election

The lease form represents a basic model for an agricultural lease. The parties to the lease or their legal counsel may wish to consider modifications to better meet the needs of the particular landowner or tenant. Form is fillable PDF format.

Reports that genetically engineered rice entered the food supply chain surfaced this summer. The unapproved for export varieties, not surprisingly, engendered significant controversy, resulting in the filing of several lawsuits and disruption of the international rice trade. This article summarizes the history of the commingling, compares this incident with the previous StarLink litigation, and analyzes the impact on the rice futures market.

This article addresses important contract law questions that arise when a farmer?s crop is lost to floodwaters or when market prices rise much higher than the forward contract prices established months earlier.

This article discusses how to find an attorney in Illinois and a new project, the ?Illinois Family Farm Law Project?, which provides free legal assistance to qualified low-income family farmers. The article also describes how to verify that an Illinois attorney is in good standing.

The lease form represents a basic model for an agricultural lease. The parties to the lease or their legal counsel may wish to consider modifications to better meet the needs of the particular landowner or tenant. This lease form was developed from an earlier version prepared by University of Illinois Extension. Form is fillable PDF format.…

A web-based University of Illinois publication describing Agricultural drainage law and federal wetlands policy (December, 1997).

This article describes a Variable Cash Rent Lease in which the farmland owner and operator negotiate a Base Cash Rent based on expected corn yields and the current price for new-crop corn futures contracts. The Actual Cash Rent will be the Base Cash Rent adjusted for changes in corn futures prices between the time the lease is negotiated and about March 1

A web-based text of the principal Illinois statutes addressing division fences and other fence-related rights and responsibilities. See the DISCLAIMER concerning the use of Illinois’ web-based statutes. Note that this is listed under Illinois Compiled Statutes 765 ILCS 130/ Fence Act.

This article describes the protections provided to farmers and lenders by the Illinois Grain Code in the event an Illinois-licensed grain elevator fails.

With the increasing interest in preserving open space, conservation easements are becoming more popular. If certain requirements are met, the owner can make a like-kind exchange for additional land. The requirements are listed in this excerpt.

The lease form represents a basic model for an agricultural lease. The parties to the lease or their legal counsel may wish to consider modifications to better meet the needs of the particular landowner or tenant. Form is fillable PDF format.

This addendum can be used for either the Illinois Fixed Cash Lease Form or Illinois Crop-Share Farm Lease, or any other lease.

This short article discusses Illinois law regarding the termination of year to year tenancies of farmland, including the notice content, timing, and delivery methods described in the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

The lease form represents a basic model for an agricultural lease. The parties to the lease or their legal counsel may wish to consider modifications to better meet the needs of the particular landowner or tenant. Form is fillable PDF format.

This article (1) examines how Illinois law discourages herbicide drift, and (2) illustrates how damages from suspected herbicide drift might be pursued under Illinois law. The Illinois Pesticide Act (Illinois Compiled Statutes, Chapter 415, Act 60) and principles of civil liability discourage herbicide drift. The Illinois Pesticide Act does so by making the irresponsible use of herbicides unlawful, and by assessing penalties of up to $10,000 for violations of the Act. The Act does not, however, provide any direct means through which an injured party can collect damages. Instead, injured parties must rely on civil liability principles and the courts to seek recovery for damages caused by suspected drift. The risk of being liable for pesticide drift encourages proper use and application of pesticides, and creates an incentive to settle pesticide drift cases out-of-court. But there is also the risk that a party will not be able to prove the case and recover compensation for suspected drift damage. An earlier version of this article was published in the Proceedings of Illinois? 2000 Specialty Crop Conference.

The IRS regulation on self-rental provides that when a taxpayer rents property to his or her own business, the rental profit is not treated as passive activity income. This means it can not be used to offset passive activity losses. This material has examples illustrating the concept of the regulation and lists recent court cases affirming the regulation.

Generally, a farm lease should be in writing for many reasons. However, a farm tenant in possession of Illinois farmland under an oral lease has some protection under the law because such leases are considered to be leases ?from year to year? in Illinois. This article discusses why it is generally wise to have a written lease, and also describes how the law protects a farm tenant even if the lease is not in writing.

This addendum can be used for either the Illinois Fixed Cash Lease Form or Illinois Crop-Share Farm Lease, or any other lease.

StarLink is a genetically engineered corn variety approved in the U.S. for feed (but not food) uses and later discovered in human foods. This article will (a) track the pre-StarLink evolution of U.S. biotechnology regulatory policy and the emergence of the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology, (b) describe the specific actions taken by APHIS, FDA, and EPA in approving the commercialization of StarLink?, (c) highlight other new developments and subsequent StarLink-related regulatory actions, and (d) glean from the StarLink saga some lessons and insights regarding the U.S. system for biotechnology regulation. This article was published in 7 Drake Journal of Agricultural Law 159 – 211 (2002). Copyright is held by the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law which has given the author permission to use the article for educational purposes. This PDF version (accessed by clicking above) has been formatted so that the page numbers correspond to the page numbers in the printed version in the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law.

The Illinois Drainage Code is the principal Illinois statute addressing drainage rights and responsibilities in Illinois. It is available from the Website of the Illinois General Assembly. The citation to the Illinois Drainage Code is 70 ILCS 605.

On August 21, 2002 Illinois Public Act 92-819 became effective. It amends the Illinois Landlord’s Lien Upon Crops statute by eliminating the requirement to file Form UCC1 with the Secretary of State in order to have a priority lien. This article discusses use of the Landlord’s Lien after August 21, 2002. Included are examples and a form for giving notice to prospective purchasers of the crop. Landowners may want to discuss the Landlord’s Lien statute, and other strategies for assuring the payment of rent, with a practicing attorney.

This article describes the protections provided to farmers and lenders by the Illinois Grain Code in the event an Illinois-licensed elevator fails. These protections were changed significantly by Public Act 93-0225, effective July 21, 2003, which amended the Illinois Grain Code to incorporate lessons from the Ty-Walk elevator failure. A checklist of ?Good Practices? designed to maximize these protections for farmers is included.

This article discusses the new assessments imposed on both farmers and lenders under Public Act 93-0225, the 2003 amendments to the Illinois Grain Code. These assessments will restore solvency to the Illinois Grain Insurance Fund, which guarantees the payment of approved claims by farmers and lenders when an Illinois-licensed elevator fails. A link to the full text of the Illinois Grain Code is provided.

Illinois follows the doctrine of reasonable use for groundwater withdrawals. This brief article describes that doctrine. It also describes the impact of the Water Use Act of 1983 and the Water Authorities Act on one’s rights to withdraw groundwater, and the role of the courts in resolving disputes. Links to the Water Use Act and Water Authorities Act are provided.

In Illinois, rules for the use of stream water and ground water differ somewhat. For stream water, Illinois follows the Riparian Doctrine – Reasonable Use Rule: Each person owning land next to a stream is entitled to use all the stream water necessary to satisfy natural needs (e.g., to meet household needs), but is limited to reasonable use of the water to meet artificial needs (e.g., irrigation). Disputes about what is a reasonable share of the available stream water are resolved in the courts if they cannot be resolved informally.