About: Jeff Casel is taking over Stone Wall Dairy Farm in Cornwall, Connecticut, through a lease-to-own agreement. The farm, which Jeff renamed Calf & Clover Creamery, produces raw milk, eggs, and vegetables without antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or pesticides. In the future, Jeff wants to expand his dairy production to include yogurt, chocolate milk, and ice cream.
Legal Need: Jeff wanted to enter into a lease-to-own agreement with a farmland investor, who planned to purchase the currently operating dairy farm and then lease it to Jeff. The structure of the transaction would allow the current farmer to get a retirement income and would keep the farmland in production as Jeff smoothly transitions to ownership.
Lawyer: The Legal Food Hub matched Jeff with attorney Brian Fischer. With Brian’s experience in financing transactions, he was the perfect fit to help Jeff become a farm owner.