What environmental risks should I check for before buying farmland with a long history of pesticide or chemical storage?

Long-term agricultural use can leave behind soil and groundwater contamination from pesticides, fertilizers, and fuel used to run farm equipment, particularly around old mixing areas, storage sheds, fuel tanks, and disposal sites where chemicals may have been dumped or spilled over many years. Because this kind of contamination built up gradually and often wasn't documented at the time, it can be easy to overlook compared to a single obvious industrial use.

A Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment is the right starting point, since its historical records review and site interviews are specifically designed to surface this kind of long-term, low-visibility land use pattern, including old aerial photos that can reveal storage structures no longer standing. Buyers should also ask the seller directly about historical pesticide and fuel storage locations, any known spills, and whether any underground storage tanks were ever installed on the property. If the Phase 1 identifies specific areas of concern, targeted Phase 2 soil sampling at those locations, rather than testing the whole parcel, is often the practical next step. This due diligence matters most where the buyer intends a use, such as residential development, more sensitive to contamination than continued farming.