For those of you who have been in the cattle production business for any amount of time, you have probably been burned once or twice by a handshake lease deal gone wrong.

What do these three things have in common? Most farmers and ranchers would tell you that they miss the “good old days.” You know, the days when a man’s word was much more trustworthy than any piece of paper.

If you own or lease any amount of rural land for livestock or crop production, then you have likely encountered obstacles arising from the division of the surface and mineral estates and the impact that can have on your use of the land.