Contracts & Zoning
Land Contracts
Availability, Invoices & Food Buyer Dispute Resolutions
Video
80 minutes
Land Contract Toolbox
Article + Download
75 min read
Zoning
Navigating Zoning Codes and Challenges
Book
2 chapters
Put Your CSA On Strong Legal Footing
Video
112 minutes
Going In-Depth With CSA Farm Law
Video
103 minutes
Other Contract Categories
Sales & Contract Questions:
Getting a grip on farm sales agreements, generally
You’ve worked so hard to grow beautiful brassicas and to-die-for daikon radishes. Now you need to get them into the hands of your customers. How do you do minimize complications and maximize success? Check out our free Farm Sales Agreements Basics, a tip sheet that addresses some of the most typical farm sales issues. If listening is more your jam, check out our free 29min. long Podcast Episode Six: Will Sign for Food!, to hear from some farm sales agreements experts on the issues that matter most in this arena.
I need a model sales contract
When it comes to model contracts, we’ve got you covered.
Start with our Farmers’ Availability Sheets and Invoices Toolbox, which includes a Model Basic Sales Agreement, Model Availability Sheets and Model Invoices. We also have a model for production contracts in Farm Production Services Agreements (43pgs.) and a model wholesale agreements in Farmers’ Guide to Wholesale Agreements(36pgs.)
Comparing market channels, legally speaking
So much of the farmer’s focus is naturally on the growing part. Getting outside and getting your hands in the dirt is a big part of why you chose this profession. But, you can’t forget that the selling part is just as important. Do you sell to restaurants? At farmers’ markets? To grocery stores? Do you start a CSA or have a farm stand?
If you are still exploring this decision and need a comparison of the legal perspectives on each, the Legal Considerations for Choosing Direct to Consumer Farm Markets (20pgs.) provides helpful guidance. It explores the legal risks and benefits of different market channels with an eye to small-scale producers.
Selling your labor, or production services contracts
It turns out there are lots of innovative alternative approaches to selling your farm goods. One such approach is to sell your production services rather than what you produce. For example, instead of growing tomatoes and selling the red orbs, you can enter into a contract for your labor before you even put seed in the ground. For example, a buyer may contract with you to trial a special product or seed variety. Such an arrangement can offer terrific stability! But, production service arrangements are not without there hiccups and careful attention should be paid to rights and obligations.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and written agreements
The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) sales model can provide great security for farms, providing much-needed capital at the start of the season, and it can also bolster community connection. Like most things though, legal issues abound.
To sort them out, look no further than the Legally Resilient Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program Guide(43pgs.), which will help you navigate the issues around sales, sharing risk, offering gift certificates, dealing with securities laws, managing drop sites, combining farm product, working with volunteers, hosting events, and managing food safety.
Help with negotiating and drafting agreements
If you are in conversation or negotiation around a sales agreement, you will find our resource, Farmers’ Guide to Negotiating and Drafting Agreements (31pgs.) very useful in helping you through this process. This resource will boost your negotiation and drafting skills. After working through it, you should know how to skillfully negotiate a successful deal, understand the benefits of entering a written contract, understand the guidelines for drafting a contract, know what makes an agreement a legally valid contract, and know when to seek the help of an attorney.
Wholesale Agreements
Get the tools you need to successfully sell your farm products through wholesale market channels such as to grocery stores, distributors, and large institutions like schools and government agencies.
Selling wholesale – to grocery stores, distributors, and large institutions – can be a valuable market channel for small farmers. However, successfully selling into these markets can require foresight and preparation to avoid risk. Involving substantially higher volume along with quality specifications, specific handling and packing standards, fulfillment timeframes, and so on, there’s a lot to sort out. This can feel overwhelming, but the Farmers’ Guide to Wholesale Agreements (36pgs.) can help! This guide walks you through the process of selling wholesale, including brainstorming and negotiating terms and solidifying the deal in a written agreement. Farm-ready tools include a helpful checklist, a sample Grocery Store Supplier Agreement and a sample Marketing and Distributor Agreement.
Availability sheet, invoices, and other direct-to-consumer sales
Draft documents that protect your interests.
Sales agreements create predictability for direct-to-consumer farmers, and also provides accurate expectations for everyone, which is always important! Many farmers rely on the simple, effective combination of an availability sheet and invoice to lay out their terms and offerings. Our resource, Farmers’ Availability Sheets and Invoices Toolbox(21pgs.) will help you understand how to craft effective and enforceable sales agreements and procedures, and includes a Model Basic Sales Agreement, Model Availability Sheets and Model Invoices. These tools are easy opportunities to boost your legal resilience.