Pasture/Lease/cattle question

[Sigarms]

Bought house and land close to a year ago. House was unoccupied for close to six years before we moved in.
Well, for those six years that no one lived there, the owner "leased" the pasture land to a farmer down the road for about 30 head of cattle. Standing agreement was that the farmer would "upkeep" the land while he used the land for pasture for his cattle.

I consider my wife and myself very reasonable people, and most of the land (about 30 acres just for the cattle) we have no intention of using in the near future other than for myself for hunting and on occasion (sp?) for some shooting. We bought all the land for the speciffic purpose that no one could move "next" to us.

Well, in close to a year the only thing that I've seen the famer do is bush hog the pasture once last summer. Keep in mind, all of the property is fenced in, and we also have a couple of stalls (previous owner used for his horses) that the farmer uses for feeding/seperating cattle during different times of the year, which he has to drive on our lawn to get to.

We've done alot of work outside around the house, even put up more wire fencing that was falling down that kept the cattle off our proerty. Well, got a phone call from my wife this morning. She told me laughing that our dogs our good hearders (sp?). Been working on a hill behind the house last couple of days clearing/digging/burning some brush that I would like gone for this summer. Seems that a calf was able to get through the fencing somewhere and came up beind the house.

Now, I'm not upset nor really care that this calf got out of the fenced area, but am concearned (sp?) for the calfs "safety" and don't want it to get "lost" off our property. Also, if this one "got out", others I'm sure will be able to as well. Reason my wife was laughing was that our Aussie and Beagle mix "hearded" (sp?) right back down onto the pasture behind the house (my wife didn't see the exact point in the fence line, but told me it was where I was clearing the last couple of days).

I would like to replace some of the fencing behind the house due to it's age, and some of the posts are leaning looking like they need to be replaced as well. Keep in mind, as of now, the only reason we need this fencing is due to the cattle.

As mentioned, consider myself reasonable and not sure how to approach this subject with the farmer and his cattle. Only reason at this point that I even need the fencing is for the cattle behind the house. There are other areas as well on the land that "need some work" which I will most likely do myself, but again, wondering what my expectations should be of the farmer.

I don't want to come across as an butt head, but considering that he is using most of my land for his cattle, wondering again what my expectaions should be.

As mentioned before, he pays us nothing for use of the land, and in twelve months has only bush hogged (sp?) the pasture one time last summer.

Are there any farmers here who "lease" land for their cattle?

Any one else in the same "boat" so to speak on my end?

Whats land "go for" on payment if a farmer just "rents the land" for his cattle? (I can't help but think that this farmer has a pretty good deal).

Looking for suggestions on how to approach the farmer to discuss some of the things that I see need to be done.

Thanks

 

[HammerFour]

Check with your local agricultural extension agent for pasture lease prices in your area. Around here it is $14 per acre per year for unimproved pasture and $26 per acre per year for improved.

Yes, he has a very good deal. You should at least be getting enough to cover your taxes on the property, he is getting pasture for free ( or at minimal maintenance expense ).

I am in the process of leasing some acrage near our house, one thing that is part of it is me getting a liability policy that protects the landlord in the event of an animal getting loose from that property and causing property damage or personal injury. From what you said, you have some exposure with that regard and you aren't being compensated for it. I would at least ask the farmer if his farm/ranch policy covers his cattle liability when they are on your property.

I think you should approach him with some figures, it is only right that he pay for the use of your land.

Get some lease figures from the ag agent, maybe make your approach that you would at least like the farmer to cover your costs for paying taxes and insuring the land ( your homeowners policy covers some of your liability for that property I am sure ) since he is making use of the land and profiting from grazing cattle on it, I would think he would be willing to pay a bit for that.

 

[SnoFalls]

I'd say to have a conversation with the farmer using the pasture that the fence is deteriorating, a calf "escaped, and you understand the "arrangement" is he would maintain the pasture for the grazing rights. Offer to help _him_ fix the fence.

He might go off about it being _your_ fence, not _his_ responsibility, etc ... but I doubt it. Fencing is part of pasture upkeep and he probably realizes it's in his interest to keep it maintained.

If you wanted a better/nicer fence, then that sorta "upgrade" should fall onto your shoulders. He may also want the same, and perhaps yall could share the work/expense?

I don't see it getting into a pissy match, and by "helping" him you might gain a friend.

BTW, the once a year brushhogging doesn't sound like he's ducking his side of the bargain.

My MIL "leased" about 40ac to somepeople for grazing rights, and that deal was they paid the prop taxes each year (about $1500 or so I believe). They did fence maintenance (but also screwed up and uncovered the spring cistern which a calf fell into and died. After that the "leasing" stopped ...

 

[BB_TX]

I live 30 miles from my land. Plan to build there someday. In the meantime, I let my neighbor (who is also a good friend) run cattle on the land in return for keeping a watch on the place. I have an ag exemption, so him running cattle saves me a lot on taxes. If the appraisal district people come out to look, they see cattle or at least lots of patties to verify it is being used for grazing.
As far as loose cattle, that is a fact of life in the country. My two neighbors who run cattle sometimes have theirs get out, or someone elses get in. One of them found 4 head on the road in front of his house and ran them into his pasture until he could find the owner. After about a year, he has found no one to claim them.

 

[bmaxwell]

Mine personally goes for $13.50 an acre, somewhere in the range of $12-$15 an acre is a reasonable request, he should also be spraying annually and fertilizing/applying lime at least that many times a year. As for the fencing, that is an iffy issue, I agree that you should offer to pay for the fence, but asking him for a little help stringing up shouldn't be an unreasonable request. If there are other pastures in the area where people are leasing for cattle, then this all certainly shouldn't be a problem, if he doesn't like the arrangements and there are other customers, then tell him good luck and find another.

 

[JimR]

Free grazing land and no work to boot to keep the cattle fenced in is one deal. Looks to me like he's using you to his benefit. I'd have a good talk with him about the land an fence issues. If you can't come to some sort of agreement, tell him the cows need to go. Maybe then he'll think twice about fixing the fences which are keeping his cattle in place.

 

[riptides]

Around my parts it is not uncommon for people to just offer their lands up for free, just to keep their AG exemption. We even have want ads on the county site, looking for cows.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DavidA]

I hope you have filed with Yadkin County for the Ag. tax exemption. NC requires a minimum of 10 acres and an income (real or imputed) of $1,000 per year to qualify. Your tenant should fix and maintain the fences (it is in his own best interest). Land rents in Davie County, just south of you, are in the $25 to $40 per acre range so your guy has a real deal.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Sigarms,
I agree with the others. You should get at least enough to cover taxes on the land. You should also have a Liability policy to cover you incase one of his cows gets out and is hit by a car. This could bring up the fence issue. Not a bad idea to see if he also has a liability policy and get a copy.


My BIL leases pasture for horses and receives enough to pay taxes and he also has a liability policy. The guy he leases to had someone ride a horse in the pasture he was trying to sell. The person fell off, got hurt and tried to sue the owner of the horse as well as my BIL.

On the fence, he requires it to be maintained, however if additional post and new fenceing is required they will share the cost, that way if my BIL decides not to lease the next year there won't be a big deal about the cost of fenceing.

 

[Sigarms]

Talked with our accountant (sp?) last year before we bought the place about this "arrangement" (sp?). Long story short, his reccomendation (sp?) was not to claim it "ag" due to some changes in the tax laws.