North Dakota Supreme Court denies son cheap farmland deal over farming rules

The <b>North Dakota Supreme Court</b> ruled that a man could not buy his parents' farmland for $100 an acre because he failed to actively farm it. Parents William and Elaine Stramer had offered their son <b>Todd Stramer</b> the option to purchase the remaining land in their wills if he returned and farmed it personally. According to a ruling issued on Friday, the court found that Todd did not meet this required condition. The court noted that Todd arranged for a longtime tenant to grow crops while a family trust paid expenses. The court applied the federal Farm Service Agency definition to determine he was not actively engaged in farming. Furthermore, the court upheld his removal as personal representative and trustee after his sister Ann sought his removal for violating duties, while also limiting his brother Douglas to a smaller <b>5.96-acre</b> farmyard purchase option instead of twenty-five acres. The Supreme Court also ordered a lower court to recalculate damages for Todd's use of the property between 2023 and 2025. The case has now been sent back to the lower court for the judgment to be properly amended.