We Truly View Our Landlords As Partners.
As symbolized in our logo, we make our decisions based on the long-term perspective. We strive to reach agreements that are fair to the landowner and to ourselves. We protect the landowner’s asset by leaving it better than we found it, not only in fertility levels but overall soil health. An imbalanced relationship will not last. Most of our land is currently rented on basic cash rent agreements. We also have 50/50 agreements and flex cash rents.
A traditional cash rent agreement is perhaps the simplest and most predictable agreement. The landowner provides the land and pays the property taxes and the tenant pays a preset rent on specific dates. Lime application, ditch installation and repair, and fencerow maintenance are some of the negotiable items.
In a 50/50 agreement, typically, the landowner provides the land, pays the property taxes, and pays for one-half of the inputs. The tenant provides all labor, machinery, and the remaining half of the inputs. Proceeds from crop sales are then split 50/50. Trucking of grain is normally one of the few negotiable items in this type of agreement. Obviously, the landowner shares in a good year, but conversely, has risk in a poor year. Another consideration is the additional bookwork and record keeping.
The third agreement, a flex rent, is a hybrid of sorts. Typically, a base rent is agreed upon, normally at an amount slightly lower than in a traditional cash rent. Following harvest, a bonus is calculated. The bonus can be based off of yields, commodity prices, or a combination of the two. In this agreement, the landowner and tenant share in the risk and the reward.
Farm program payments are normally split in direct correlation to the risk exposure of the parties involved.
We pride ourselves in taking care of many small maintenance issues. Roadsides are mowed on a regular basis. We take care of ditch repairs and small installations. When necessary, we maintain waterways and tree trimming/removal. Erosion control is a high priority. We can update the landowner as often as he or she would like regarding this work as well as the furnishing of any input or yield records.
It’s important to keep in mind that every agreement is unique and needs to be negotiated accordingly. The preceding was a brief overview; please contact us if we can answer any questions.