Farm and Agribusiness Purchase and Sale Transactions: Key Legal Issues for Buyers and Sellers
Identifying Threshold Considerations, Negotiating the Purchase and Sale Agreement, Conducting Due Diligence

Course Details
- smart_display Format
Live Online with Live Q&A
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Real Property - Transactions
- event Date
Thursday, September 18, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will discuss the critical legal issues in purchasing and selling a farm or other agribusiness. The program will focus on critical due diligence issues, threshold considerations for the parties, and essential terms and provisions in the purchase and sale agreement in any farming operation or agribusiness transaction.
Faculty

Ms. Larson’s practice focuses on commercial real estate including the acquisition, disposition, leasing, financing, and development of commercial, timber, and food and agribusiness holdings, including controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facilities. She regularly represents both borrowers and lenders (foreign and domestic) in lending transactions secured by commercial and agricultural properties, including the negotiation of intercreditor and co-lender arrangements. Ms. Larson also regularly advises clients on investments in various food and agribusiness assets. She regularly advises on jurisdictionally-specific permitting, licensing, certification, and product-specific requirements for producers, processors and retailers of food, including those applicable to CEA facilities. Ms. Larson also counsels clients on filing requirements for foreign investors under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act and analogous state statutes.

Mr. Criglow focuses his practice on real estate and business transactions and counseling in the industries of real estate development and investment, agribusiness, and timberlands/forest products, including leasing, purchases, sales, financing and related general commercial contracts.

Mr. Kendrick is GC for Peoples Company and its affiliates, responsible for overseeing the company’s legal functions across the nation. He provides strategic legal counsel to the company’s business divisions and supports its mission of being the leading agricultural land transaction firm in the United States. Mr. Kendrick works to proactively identify opportunities and mitigate risks throughout the organization. In addition to driving the company’s overall objectives, Mr. Kendrick is actively involved in the Capital Markets and Corporate Services divisions.
Description
Purchasing an agribusiness--comprising commercial farming or ranching, processing, packing, manufacturing, and other livestock, dairy or agricultural-focused operations--is fraught with legal issues well beyond real estate matters to resolve during the due diligence period. Working knowledge of the concerns, standards, and customs for addressing those matters is critical to a successful transaction.
When representing buyers or sellers in an agribusiness transaction, attorneys must be prepared to address issues that cross multiple practice areas. Counsel must ensure that the purchase and sale agreement provides an optimal roadmap through the acquisition and disposition process that considers all stakeholders, meets the parties' reasonable expectations, and defines the buyer's due diligence work parameters.
Key provisions include the buyer's ability to obtain financing, terms of assumed financing, insurance availability, essential terms and conditions, the property and consideration that will change hands, and the buyer's due diligence inspection rights. The parties should clearly articulate the scope of the buyer's inspection activities, the timeline for the buyer to conduct inspection activities, and the post-inspection treatment of information discovered.
Other critical issues include deed restrictions, covenants, encroachments, easements and access, environmental contamination and compliance, water and mineral rights, utilities, leases or other contracts that run with the land, and other land use concerns.
Listen as our authoritative panel discusses unique issues involved in purchasing or selling a farm or other agribusiness. The discussion will include threshold considerations, key terms and closing contingencies in the purchase and sale agreement, and best practices for full due diligence.
Outline
I. Identifying threshold considerations
II. Negotiating and drafting the purchase and sale agreement
III. Key due diligence issues
A. Real property
B. Personal property
C. IP
D. Production history
E. Contracts, permits, licenses
F. Regulatory compliance
IV. Case studies
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What considerations arise when the seller intends to retain certain operations?
- What are best practices for conducting a physical inspection of the property?
- How does one resolve issues with deed restrictions, covenants, easements, and encroachments?
- What are the requirements for adequate environmental due diligence?
- How can buyers confirm the protection of their water and mineral rights?
- What are the critical land use issues?
- What key factors impact the functionality and profitability of the agribusiness?
- Will the seller continue certain operations in a way that could compete with the buyer's business that the buyer may want to address by negotiating a noncompete agreement?
- What are the most common financial issues that can arise during the due diligence phase?
- How will the parties exchange information during the negotiation and due diligence period?
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