Your phone lights up. It’s the group text chat that’s replaced the co-op fuel station where the older farmers used to gather. “Have you heard how much Joe is paying for rent this year?”
Your blood pressure rises.
“I heard Matt’s been approaching landlords, trying to see who’ll let him farm their ground this year if he beats the rental rate.”
It may feel like there is a new bidding war every year, driven by the need to farm more ground and the scarcity of farmland available. This can put farmers who rent cropland or pastureland in uncertain situations. Will they have the land next year? What will the landowners’ kids do once they inherit? While you can hardly blame another guy for trying (if the rumors are true), how can you protect the land you rent?
Most farmers smirk when I start talking about farm leases. They know the lawyer’s usual line of, “Get it in writing.” They sit up a little straighter when I acknowledge that many farmers won’t do that or even feel like they can’t.
Trust and the handshake deal have been the bedrock of farmer-landlord relationships for decades. At least that’s the excuse we usually make. That school of thought tells us that asking for a written lease will insult our landlord. They’ll think we don’t trust them or, worse, that we’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes in fancy legalese. Land is too important and too scarce to risk losing, so many farmers never ask their landlords to change the status quo.
However, asking for change or negotiating doesn’t have to be a fight. Because farmers recognize the importance of land to farming operations, the idea of entering a negotiation may put them on edge. After all, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) still might mean losing the land. They don’t want to upset their landlord and walk away with no deal.
But what if it didn’t? What if the BATNA was simply to continue to rent the land with no changes to the status quo? Would negotiating still feel as risky?
If renting the land on better terms is the goal, and farmers want the best alternative to continue at regular terms, then maintaining the landlord relationship is key. An adversarial negotiation may not be the way, but there is another way – a friendly negotiation, or better yet, a friendly conversation. After all, by definition, a negotiation is simply a conversation aimed at reaching an agreement.
Farmers may already talk to their landlord on a regular basis, perhaps as they’re dropping off the rent check at the end of the year or when they run into them at the local dining establishment. These conversations can be an important part of building and maintaining a relationship with a farm landlord, and they can set the stage for an ask.
How can you turn your conversation with your landlord into a negotiation?
The, almost cliché, phrase “telling your story” can be used for more than simply changing consumer perception or lobbying for legislation. Telling your story and listening to your landlord’s story in return is also an important part of negotiation. Research from science communication experts shows that finding common values can actually be more effective than data in impacting other people.
For example, you might be struggling with how to ask your longtime landlord to change the lease into your adult child’s name as they take over the operation. You might instead try connecting on the value of family by asking about their own family and talking about how your child is involved on the farm, allowing your relationship to remain close. You might encourage that adult child to go with you to drop off the rent check this year so that they can also start building a relationship with the landlord, priming the landlord for an eventual ask to lease directly to that adult child.
Perhaps you’d like to implement a new practice on the parcel you rent, but you wonder if you’ll still have the land in a year or two. You might explain how that new practice will mitigate erosion and share with them that you are serious about respecting and taking care of their property, a value they are likely to share. That could set up an ask to sign a longer-term lease (to ensure enough time to implement and ensure that you’ll also see the benefit of the investment) or an ask to maintain, rather than raise, a rental rate due to the improvement you’re making to their property.
Maybe you and your landlord both acknowledge you’re getting older. You might suggest a written lease, not because you don’t trust them, but because you both want the transition process to be clear and easy for your heirs. You could say, “Let’s write it down, so everyone knows exactly what we talked about. It’ll be one less thing for them to have to figure out if something happens to one of us.”
Regardless of the topic or issue, be sure to listen to the landlord for hints of what they value. Do they see the land as just a paycheck, or are they unknowingly telling you more about concerns or uncertainties they might have with production agriculture? While few farmers are likely interested in taking full, direct orders from their landlords, spending time on careful conversations about the research behind your farming practices and philosophies might alleviate future concerns. Treating a landlord like a partner rather than an adversary may help minimize future disagreements.
As you talk to your landlord, your story might include information about the farm and the people involved; your farming philosophy and practices; the goals of the farming operation; and how their land fits into your overall land base for feed, nutrient management, conservation or other considerations.
Make notes about your conversations and document, if only for yourself and your farm, your understanding of the agreement. In the event of a dispute over when a lease begins or ends, management practices or a failure to meet obligations, you will be glad to have something to fall back on.
And of course – better yet – get your lease signed and in writing if you can.
This article is provided for information purposes only. Readers should consult their own professional advisers for specific advice tailored to their needs. Information contained in this article may be subject to change without notice.
