October 7, 2009 - 12:43 p.m. EST

MUNGER — There will be a joint meeting between officials from Tuscola County next week Merritt Township and Bay County on wind energy.

The Farm Bureau Board of Directors in Tuscola and Bay counties, along with MSU Extension, have scheduled Dr. Stephen Harsh, Professor and Extension Specialist with the MSU Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics. He will speak on leasing land for the purpose of wind energy development.

The meeting will be Monday at the Merritt Township Hall, 48 E. Munger Rd. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. with the program at 9 a.m. running until about 12:30 p.m.

The program is open to anyone interested in the topic.

Due to landowner inquiries on the topic of wind energy, the program is targeted for landowners primarily in Gilford, Akron, Fairgrove and Wisner townships in Tuscola County and Merritt, Hampton and Portsmouth Townships in Bay County.

Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP no later than Thursday by calling the Tuscola County Farm Bureau at (989) 673-4155 or Bay County Farm Bureau at (989) 684-2772.

There is no cost to attend, and some refreshments will be provided.

There will be some guest speakers.

Dr. Harsh is a co-author and presenter on Landowner Guidelines for Evaluating Wind Energy Production Contracts, revised July 2008.

Topics to be discussed in his presentation include: basic contract details, confidentiality issues, contract duration, compensation clauses, assignment clauses, property taxes, liability issues, other restrictions on land use, choice of law/choice of venue clauses and contract termination.

These guidelines are designed to help landowners with some important issues that should be taken into account when negotiating a contract and some of the alternatives that might be considered to address those issues.

Also, Rep. Terry Brown and Rep. Jeff Mays are scheduled to speak on wind energy statutes, and to provide an update on wind energy legislation under consideration.

For further information, contact Delores Damm, Tuscola County Farm Bureau Land Use Committee Chair, at (989) 871-2091 or Dr. Hal Hudson, County Extension Director, MSU Extension - Tuscola County at (989) 672-3870.