In some areas, land in agricultural use get's favorable property tax exemptions. I was able to once get land use for free just by allowing the owner to receive this benefit.

I'm not sure expecting them to pay for compost - or anything else for that matter - is a good idea.

Frankly, I think that their just having to make sure you're covered by their homeowner's or farm insurance would be enough, not to mention their also having to deal with your comings & goings.

If I were you, I'd be happy if someone just offered me the use of the land.

Thanks for the input!

I was fortunate enough to be able to "borrow" land from someone with a very small farm. The challenge I have with this is I live quite a distance, so I have to travel to tend to it. The big benefit is the quality of soil. I've found that the more urban the area, especially in the Chicago area, the more it tends to be a whole lot of clay, (hard clay!) the further out you go, the more the area may have been farmed, therefor you don't need much in the way of compost, etc.