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Join Stafford Rosenbaum in watching the film Bad River, in theatres from March 15-20, 2024. The movie documents the Bad River Band’s ongoing fight for sovereignty against Canadian energy company Enbridge.

The movie will play at AMC Fitchburg 18, Ashland Bay Cinema 6, and at select theatres across the country. 50% of all profits from the film will be donated to the Bad River Band. More information on the Band and the litigation is below. For more information on…
Continue Reading In Theatres this March: Bad River Film

The intersection of access easement rights and timber rights presents an interesting question for attorneys practicing in rural areas.

Access easements often become overgrown with and blocked by trees and other vegetation, especially in wooded areas of northern Wisconsin. When this happens, both the benefited and burdened property owners may ask “what right does the easement holder have to cut timber on the burdened property?”

Unfortunately, this question does not have an easy answer, though Wisconsin’s statutes and case…
Continue Reading Easement Rights versus Timber Rights

Tractor cultivating field at spring
Tractor cultivating field at spring,aerial view

​Inflation remains high. Landlords, particularly agricultural landlords, may well want or need to raise rents. Raising rent on an agriculture lease may be especially difficult.

Generally, the terms of a written lease control the modification of rent. In contrast to a typical written lease, many agricultural leases are verbal, and the tenancy is typically on a year-to-year basis. Therefore, an agricultural landlord will need to terminate the verbal lease to raise rent.
Verbal Leases
The Wisconsin statutes set out…
Continue Reading The Benefits of Written Leases for Agricultural Landholders

Note: This is the second of two parts in the State Bar of Wisconsin Litigation Blog discussing the agricultural tourism immunity statute for an injury claim that occurred at a barn wedding. For the plaintiff side, see the article by Amy Risseeuw, “Agricultural Tourism Immunity and Barn Weddings: The Plaintiff.”

Weddings held at a farm, ranch, or orchard not only provide a relaxed and fun alternative to traditional venues but can also be an income lifeline to…
Continue Reading Agricultural Tourism Immunity and Barn Weddings: The Defense

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The 2019 death of an 8-year old on a Wisconsin farm recently made state and national headlines after ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel conducted investigations and co-published an article regarding the events that lead to the child’s death, and how the police investigation of the circumstances missed key details in how the child died.

As a result of the investigations and resulting articles, there is renewed awareness of safety risks faced by children on…
Continue Reading Keeping Kids Safe on Wisconsin Farms

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Many Wisconsin family farms operating as limited liability companies may be surprised to learn that the law governing their entities has changed.

While the changes are numerous, and a general understanding of all such changes is warranted, this article discusses three changes that are likely to have the biggest impact on family farms organized as LLCs in Wisconsin.
Background and Application
The new Wis. ​Stat. chapter 183 became effective Jan. 1, 2023, and represents a significant departure from established…
Continue Reading New LLC Law Impacts Family Farms: 3 Things You Need To Know

Estate planning isn’t just for the elderly. Young farmers can also benefit from taking a quick look at their own estate and succession plans.

It is not uncommon for the estate and succession planning process to focus on the older generation, as they may be the individuals that have the most assets to plan for, are aging, and/or have health issues. However, planning can be just as important for the younger generation who may be the future owners, key…
Continue Reading Estate Planning for Young Farmers

Carbon credits have been a hot topic around the country as a potential opportunity for extra farm revenue. However, like any contract, farmers should carefully consider the terms of a carbon credit sale before signing an agreement.

There are several terms that could trip up the unwary signer.

What is a “carbon credit?” A carbon credit is a fictional currency representing the farm’s credit for undertaking certain practices to sequester carbon in the soil. Typically, each credit represents about…
Continue Reading Carefully Consider Carbon Credit Contracts