On this site, farmers and farmland owners create FREE, in-depth profiles that provide pertinent information about their farming dreams or farmland in Illinois. Farmers and farmland owners can efficiently search through profiles for FREE to find potentially suitable matches for a land tenure arrangement, whether a lease, a sale, or something else, and connect for a conversation.

PLEASE NOTE: Farmers and landowners who have created profiles, which we have approved, have access to all of the information (including contact info) from everyone else's profiles on the site. If you haven't created your profile posting, you can see only SOME of the basic information (not including contact info) from all profiles. So to get the total value of this site, jump in and create your profile!

1. GET TO THE RIGHT PLACE: Start the profile creation process through the “Create A Profile” button in the menu.

2. CREATE USSDER ACCOUNT: Create a user account by providing your name, email, and password. To confirm you are a real human being and that your email is correct, we’ll send a message with a link for you to click and return to the site as a registered user. Once that’s all done, you’re ready to enter the profile information. You can log in using your email and password to access your account and profile.
   
3. ENTER PROFILE INFORMATION: Enter the profile information by clicking boxes and entering text into the fields. This will include contact information (only visible to other people who create full, approved profiles), information about your farming plans and land needs if you are a farmer, and information about your land and land management goals if you are a farmland owner.

4. SUBMISSION & REVIEW: When you have completed all requested information, press SUBMIT at the bottom of the profile creation page. This will notify our staff that your profile is ready for review. We will do our best to reply within two business days. If your profile is complete, we’ll post it on the website and let you know by email. If your profile is incomplete or we need to ask clarifying questions, we’ll reach out by email and likely ask to talk by phone.
5. PROFILE GOES LIVE: Once your profile has been approved, it will go live on the website. You will then have access on the site (when logged in) to all listed profiles, including contact information.

You can continue to modify the profile once it is posted on the website by logging in and then changing/updating the information on your profile by clicking on the gear icon by your profile name.

It will generally take 20-50 minutes to complete and submit the profile for approval. It may take farmland owners longer because we request that they provide some photos of their land, including an aerial image (we can help you with that). This may sound like a lot of time. We believe, however, that having good, in-depth profiles will save you and everyone else using the site time in the long run. The in-depth information and the ability to sort for exact characteristics you are looking for should help you avoid contacting people who aren’t the right fit for you or them. We hope this greater efficiency will also reduce some of the stress of your search.

Yes, profiles expire one year after being posted live on the website. We will, however, send email notifications to you in advance of the expiration. If you want the profile renewed for another year, we will make that happen. You can also have your profile removed from the website by contacting us. It would be a wonderful courtesy if you could tell us whether you made a successful match with a farmer or farmland owner at any point. Our website best serves the community of farmers and farmland owners when profiles are for people actively looking for land or farmers.

We advise taking it one step at a time, especially if you are not very experienced. Through an email exchange, you should be able to get factual questions clarified quickly and share key facts about yourself and what you're looking for. The information you both gather and how you communicate should help you figure out if it still seems like a good match. A phone call would be the next step to ask and answer more questions and perhaps set up the details of an in-person meeting.

The second piece of advice is to ask a lot of questions to get a sense of whether the arrangements you're each looking for would make sense for the other person and whether, especially in the case of a lease or other ongoing relationship, you feel like each other's personalities and values are a good match. The more ongoing contact you have with a farmer or farmland owner, the more personalities and values will determine whether that arrangement succeeds.

You don't need to make any decisions or commitments at the first meeting. Make the common goal to get to know each other and better understand each other's goals and potential timelines. If the other person wants to move faster than you do, don't let that influence the timeline you would feel comfortable with. If things seem promising and a second meeting is arranged, consider having a friend who is experienced in agriculture come with to give you another perspective.

Finally, if you are a farmland owner and don’t know much about farming, please have someone who looks carefully at your property so your profile is as accurate and practical for the farmer as possible.

We do not share your personal information with others or organizations without your permission. Please read our privacy policy for more details.

#1: Use a variety of strategies for looking for the right land or the right farmer. This website should be just one of your efforts.

#2: Use contacts and networks of relationships as much as possible in your search. Think about well-connected people and/or organizations and let them know of your search. This will drastically expand your possibilities. Events are great ways of learning and networking.

#3: Give yourself enough time and be persistent. If you need farmland or a farmer in a year or two, don’t wait to start looking and getting the word out. It takes time to find the right match. Working out agreements, financing, or other necessary steps takes more time.

#4: Use the other resources on this website to learn more. Searching for land or a farmer, much less negotiating a lease or arrangement, is probably not something you learned in school. An ounce of sound knowledge is worth a pound of curing headaches from inadequate arrangements.

Yes. We would be happy to talk to provide ideas and guidance for your search. Reach out to us using our contact us page or call us at 217-840-2128.