He was the owner of the 600-acre (240 ha) dairy farm in Bethel, New York, where the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held on August 15–18, 1969.

[3] Max was raised with his brother Isidore (1926–2010) on the family's farm (where his parents also ran a small hotel)[4] and attended New York University, studying real estate law.

[6] Soon after agreeing to host the event, he began to receive both threatening and supporting phone calls (which could not be placed without the assistance of an operator because the community of White Lake, New York, where the telephone exchange was located, still used manual switching).

The New York Times reported that Yasgur "slammed a work-hardened fist on the table and demanded of some friends, 'How can anyone ask money for water?

[6] According to Sam Yasgur, his father agreed to rent the field to the festival organizers because it was a very wet year, which curtailed hay production.

Many of Yasgur's neighbors turned against him after the festival, and he no longer felt welcome at the town's general store, but he never regretted his decision to allow the concert on his farm.

[12] The local postmaster reportedly turned against the Yasgurs, so they opted to change their address from Bethel to Cochecton, another nearby town.

[9] In 1971, Yasgur sold the 600-acre (240 ha) farm, and moved to Marathon, Florida, where, a year and a half later, he died of a heart attack at the age of 53.

[16] In 1997, the site of the concert and 1,400 acres (570 ha) surrounding it was purchased by Alan Gerry for the purpose of creating the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

In August 2007, the 103-acre (42 ha) parcel that contains Yasgur's former homestead, about three miles (5 km) from the festival site, was placed on the market for $8 million by its owner, Roy Howard.