Air January 15 2003

Thank you Gary, and good morning everyone. I don’t know what kind of precipitation we’re going to end up with on this coming storm, if any. But I hope we get enough to do some good!

This is the time of year that lots of landlords and tenants are talking leases. We had a great meeting last week on leases, but I’ll bet that quite a few folks came away from that meeting frustrated. They came away frustrated because they weren’t told who will pay for burn down herbicides and whether all seed costs should be shared. Instead, we talked about determining who is putting in how much costs and then whether the shares of the crop that the tenant and landlord are getting is an equitable split. We really can’t talk about what’s a fair lease - because what’s fair is a judgement call. What’s equitable is an economic and something that can be actually calculated. And every farm is different and every year is different and every crop is different. So each one needs to be examined and analyzed so we can determine who is contributing what and what part of the crop should they get. If you have a computer, then there are tools that can be utilized and are available for free. If you don’t have a computer, then contact me and set up an appointment. And what I really like is when a landlord and tenant both sit down with me at the same time so we can talk together and everyone hears what the other one is saying. You see, the most crucial part of any lease is not whether it is written or oral, although that is important, but rather that both parties talk. They need to talk about a lot of things. What often ends up breaking up most lease agreements is not the things that ARE talked about, such as who pays for what and who gets what share. What breaks up most leases are the things that aren’t talked about. Such as do you clean the brush out of the fencerow or does the landlord want that left for the quail. Or who keeps up the fences? Does the landlord really want the ditches in front of the house mowed by the tenant or would he rather do that himself. Does the tenant have a right to hunt and fish on the rented property? A lot of things are often assumed and assuming is always a very dangerous trail to travel. Communication, it’s the most crucial part of making and maintaining any lease!

This is Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook 2003.

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