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Working farms, family ground, orchards, timberland and inherited farmsteads — reviewed carefully, with the family's situation taken as seriously as the soil.
Request a Confidential Farm ReviewFarm ground rarely arrives simple. There is usually a tenant, a note at the bank, a water right someone assumed was settled, heirs who see the future differently, and equipment that may or may not belong with the land. A farm review works through each of those in order, so a decision rests on facts rather than optimism — and so a family knows exactly what a gift would involve before anyone commits to anything.
What we review in this category
Succession situations
Many farm conversations start because the next generation is not farming. There may be one heir who wants to keep it, another who wants it sold, and a parent who wants the ground to mean something. A review does not resolve a family disagreement, but it does give everyone a clear picture of what a charitable gift would actually involve, in writing, before decisions harden.
Co-ownership and partial interests
Ground held by siblings, cousins, an estate or a family LLC raises questions about authority, consent and undivided interests. We ask who must sign, what the operating agreement or will requires, and whether a partial interest is being proposed. Undivided interests can be reviewed, though they carry access, partition and marketability issues that must be addressed before acceptance.
Mortgages and other debt
Encumbered ground can be reviewed. Debt is never assumed as a matter of course, and a payoff statement early in the process saves weeks later. Where debt approaches realistic value, we will say so plainly rather than let a review run on.
Leases and the current crop year
An existing tenant is normal, not a problem. What matters is the written terms: duration, rent, notice requirements, whether inputs are already in the ground, and who has rights to the standing crop. Verbal leases are common in farm country and still create obligations under state law.
Soil and environmental concerns
Old fuel barrels, buried tanks, chemical sheds, dumps, abandoned wells and former feedlots all come up. Disclosing them early usually shortens review rather than ending it, because environmental questions are worked on their own track alongside title and valuation.
Water rights
In much of the country the water is the value. Irrigation wells, surface rights, district allocations, ditch shares and transfer restrictions are reviewed as their own subject, since a right that cannot transfer changes what the ground is.
Structures and equipment
Houses, barns, bins, shops and grain facilities each carry condition, insurance and liability considerations. Equipment, livestock and stored crop are usually treated separately from the real estate; tell us what you intend to include and what you intend to keep.
The review steps
Initial description, preliminary review, professional review (title, environmental, valuation, operations), governing-body decision, and — only if accepted in writing — transfer and stewardship. No step is skipped because a deadline is approaching.
Information the review requires
- Acreage, county and legal description for each parcel.
- Who holds title today: an individual, several heirs, a trust or an entity.
- Current cash-rent, crop-share or custom-farming arrangements and their end dates.
- Mortgages, operating notes, equipment liens and unpaid property taxes.
- Water rights, wells, irrigation districts and drainage agreements.
- Soil or environmental history: fuel tanks, chemical storage, dumps, feedlots, old wells.
- Condition of the house, barns, bins, fences and any structures on the ground.
- Whether equipment, grain, livestock or personal property is meant to be included or excluded.
Questions specific to this category
A Mustard Farms initiative supporting approved Commissary Grant programs.
Organizational information, governance and the full review process are published at MustardFarms.org. Program information is at CommissaryGrant.com.
Mustard Farms does not provide legal, tax, appraisal or financial advice. Proposed gifts are subject to legal, financial, title, environmental, operational and governing-body review and written acceptance. Donors should consult independent advisers.
Request a Confidential Farm Review