Occasionally, Property questions on the MBE will test you on crops. There are two types of crops that are generally conveyed along with conveyed land: fructus industriales and fructus naturales. Fructus industriales are produced through cultivation (for example, wheat and corn) and are considered to be personal property. Fructus naturales occur naturally (for example, wild mushrooms) and are considered as a part of the real property.
That distinction between personal and real property is where the MBE will go should it test this topic. A landowner (as opposed to a tenant) is presumed to own both types of crops. Likewise, if the landowner conveys the land on which those crops grow, the landowner is presumed to have conveyed the crops along with the land.
There is, however, an important exception to that presumption when the crops are fructus industriales. The exception for such crops is known as the "doctrine of emblements." That doctrine provides that if a lease of uncertain duration is terminated through no fault of a tenant, the tenant has the right to re-enter the land to remove, harvest, or cultivate the crops that the tenant planted during the time of the tenant's tenancy. The policy here is generally to protect a tenant who might risk losing ownership of crops if the land on which the crops grow changes ownership (for example, through foreclosure). For this reason, if the tenant were to die, the doctrine of emblements would likewise apply so that the crops pass to the tenant's heirs.
Might be worth noting that there is a time limit to this exception. These crops are generally considered personal property of the tenant only until the first harvest after the termination of the tenant's tenancy. Likewise, if a tenant's tenancy ends due to the fault of the tenant, the doctrine of emblements will not apply and the crops will be forfeited. They will be treated not as personal property but rather as the real property owned by the landowner and will thus pass with the real property.
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