INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Cell phone towers, pipelines, access roads … a farmer’s lower 40 or even 5-10 acres around a rural home can be appealing to utilities and developers who want a piece of it.

They send letters or show up at the door with documents full of legalese, and suddenly the farmland that has remained unchanged for generations is in jeopardy and considered public domain. Many farmers feel violated, helpless, angry and confused.

Those emotions are understandable. But once the shock wears off, land owners must gain control of the situation and learn the art of negotiating to insure their interests are protected.

Marcus Selig, right-of-way project coordinator for Indiana Farm Bureau, and Christopher “Kit” Earle, a partner in the utilities group at Bose McKinney and Evans, led a session on Your Property, Their Profit: The Need for Easements at the Indiana Farm Bureau State Convention on Dec. 9.