leasing land for hay

Soggy Bottom Outdoors · Dec 24, 2014

I've had this conversation on a previous "haying on Shares" thread, but for the most part I agree with Sixdogs. Unless the field was close to my own ground I wouldn't be interested at all. Can't drive or haul eqiupment 20 miles for 8 acres. If it was close to home being limited to grass hay only, no pasture, or row crop options really limits its lease value to me. Consider not all lease agreements involve cash. I've traded firewood for some, a beef for the freezer for some, graveling roads for some. Be creative. What is the land ower willing to risk/provide? Money for seed/fertilizer/lime? He said he has a tractor, is he willing to rake/tedder the hay? If small squares are an option can he provide labor? Are there any barns I can use? Pull a soil sample first so everyone knows where they are. This protects everyone and insure the ground is not getting worse.

bsrfarms97 · Dec 24, 2014

yes it definitely depends on where you live. A plot of 40 acres of river bottom land here will only rent for $75- $100 an acre. In an area that is more abundant of farms I can see why it would be higher. Rolling hills here are usually less desired because some are too steep for a tractor to be on.

foreman Etexas · Dec 24, 2014

Around here it would be hard to give away 8acres to hay on,like said just have to be down the road. Folks would rather you just take it and in trade they keep the ag exemption. Works for both... My deals are aslong as I fertilize it and cut it twice,if weather permits,I pay nothing,cause they know what I have in equipment cost/maintance,time,weed spraying and fertilizer. When you get into charging rent then it gets cut somewhere,either how much fertilizer put in it or on weed spraying cause you can only put so much into a place where it comes out profitable to hay it. Then the guy leasing it takes care place,gets it looking good,yielding good and then owner decides not to lease it anymore or someone comes in and offers $, or it gets sold. A lot on the other side of the deal also.

HEC · Dec 24, 2014

I have about 20 acres of good hay and let the farmer have the hay . After a couple of years I asked him if he would put some lime and fert. on the land and he never did . All he wanted was free hay . I now mow it myself with a bush hog along with another 15 acres and let it rot on the ground for what ever nutrients it can get that way .Being retired I enjoy being out there with the rc. anyways , if I don't the wife loves to do it .Most all the dairy farmers have gone under , in fact there is only one left in my area .

Will_C · Dec 24, 2014

Locally, here in upstate NY, farmers don't pay for such ground. Most landowners are happy to have the land kept up, without the cost of mowing it yourself. I could not find a farmer that would hay my 8 acres regularly, so I mow it several times a year myself.

Will

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mattv1 · Jan 22, 2015

my 2-cents here.

I lease a couple fields of ~10 acres and i pay $200/year for those plots. I fertilize, etc...and these fields are right near me, no road time in the tractor just cut across one leased field to get to the others.

I have another field just under 10 acres that is "free." Owner asks me to spray his lawn with 24d to keep the dandelions out and run my sickle mower around the edge of his lawn (steep hillside) so he can have a good view. As long as I do that yearly, the field is mine to hay for no cost and I'm responsible for fertilizer,etc.

I stack my barn as full as I can to feed the horses through the winter and I sell whatever is left. Large horse arena so I can stack the hay on trailers and keep it inside if it takes some time to sell. This year I made enough money selling excess to cover lease fees and fertilizer costs.

If I had to pay any more for leases, I wouldn't do it. It's just too much work and the fields are of the size that nobody else would really want to mess with them. It ends up being a good deal - i get enough ground to feed the horses in our stable, landowners get ag. exemption, and they get a few bucks to buy some beers

Soggy Bottom Outdoors · Jan 22, 2015

Mattv1, sounds like a good setup to me. I'd give $10 an acre for some small fields close by. Like I've said before not all lease agreements involve cash. Especially if the landowers are older and need a little help from time to time. I've lost some good fields to folks willing to pay $200 plus an acre for it only to get it back when it became obvious they weren't good stewards of the land. (Ditches washed out, ruts made, grass waterways sprayed and killed, fertility not kept up, etc) Everyones situation is a little differant and its not always about the dollar but its not going broke either.

smstonypoint · Jan 22, 2015

Checking USDA/NASS QuickStats Ad-hoc Query Tool, average cash rents are not reported for your county (Morgan). That county is located in the Eastern District and the average cash crop rent for that district was $44/acre in 2014. I don't think that you can expect to obtain $1,000 in cash rent or crop shares on 8 acres.

Looking at your proximity to population centers, it seems to me that you could obtain $1000 in gross sales from growing sweet corn and marketing it via farmers markets, etc. Whether you want to put the time and effort into it is up to you. Avoiding the higher property tax rate isn't going to be easy.

Steve

kevin37b · Jan 23, 2015

Pallet storage might be a another option ?

msmith · Feb 23, 2015

I lease fields for hay and will not pay for them. I have people begging for me to do the hay for the farm tax exemption. If they would share on lime and fertilizer, I would do shares with them, but as it stands, without at least a 5 year lease, I can't afford to lime and fertilize one year then lose the acreage the next. I leased approximately 40 acres for a while so the guy could get the tax exemption. He thought he was doing me a favor. I had as much in fuel, twine, and equipment wear than what the hay was worth. I sold most of it and after figuring my time, I did a little better than breaking even. If he would have limed and fertilized, I would have gladly paid him or done it on shares. Honestly, I am about to get out of the hay business and buy what I need. A lot less headaches not having to worry about the weather and equipment breakdowns. Last year I had about 20 acres down and ready to go up. When I went to dump the first round bale, I blew a hydraulic line. By the time I got back to the garage, got it off and was ready to go have one made, it was 3:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. Fortunately a local oil field supply opened up their shop on Sunday after church to custom make me a hose and change the New Holland end on my hard line to get me back in the field. I got about 15 acres in before it started raining.