Farm Bill and Landlord/Tenant Cash Lease Meeting

Farm Bill Meeting AND Landlord/Tenant Cash Lease Meeting – Friday, January 23

By John Wilson, Extension Educator

Two of the most discussed topics in crop production, the new Farm Bill and Cash Leases, will be covered at two separate meetings on Friday, January 23. Both programs will be held at the Central Valley Ag East Hub three miles north of Oakland or three miles south of Lyons on Highway 77, then 1/4 mile west on County Road O.

Morning (9:00 a.m. – noon): FARM BILL MEETING

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and the Farm Service Agency (FSA), have been teaming up to provide educational meetings about the 2014 Farm Bill. All farm operators and land owners are invited and encouraged to attend.

FSA will inform participants about the sign-up process for the Farm Bill including the documentation needed and the deadlines for sign-up. Nebraska Extension will provide information about the decisions that will need to be made for base acre reallocation, yield updates, and for the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) vs. Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program selection.

It will be helpful to attend to get insight on the options everyone has with the 2014 Farm Bill. Farm operators and land owners will have three main steps to signing up.

• One is to review their current base acre allocations which is occurring at this time.
• Secondly, a decision about re-allocation of base acres will need to be made.
• Finally, the program selection will involve the ARC or PLC program.

ARC is the revenue safety net program similar to the recent ACRE program and PLC is the price safety net program. With ARC, the options will be an Individual ARC coverage vs. a County ARC coverage. With PLC, the available Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) will be discussed. Decisions made for this Farm Bill in 2015 will be final for the duration of the Bill.

Noon – 12:45 p.m.: LUNCH (Important – Please RSVP!)

After the morning meeting, a complimentary lunch will be provided by Central Valley Ag. Those wanting to leave after lunch may do so, or they may stick around for the afternoon program. Those coming in for the cash lease program only are invited to join us at noon for lunch and then attend the afternoon program.

☞ To assist us in planning for how many to expect for lunch, please call or email Julie Hall at 402.374.1920, extension 2, orjulie.hall@ne.usda.gov or John Wilson at 402.374.2929 or jwilson3@unl.edu by Tuesday, January 20. If your plans change at the last minute, don’t let that prevent you from attending. This is to just give us a rough idea of how many will be attending!

Afternoon (12:45 – 3:00 p.m.): LANDLORD/TENANT CASH LEASE MEETING

Arriving at a fair cash rental rate is difficult when land and commodity prices are stable. However, throw in volatility for either of these variables… or for production costs… and the challenge just got even greater. Cash rental rates are probably one of the most cussed and discussed topics in crop production.

This program will help landlords and tenants establish and maintain a positive farm leasing relationship and deal with the volatility of their cash rental rates. Landlords try to be loyal to their tenants, yet want a fair return for the land asset. Tenants want to be sure to stay in business, yet feel the pressure of bidding to keep the land base that they have been farming.

Topics for discussion include: lease communication – determining appropriate information sharing for both the tenant and landlord, variable cash rental arrangements, and review of current land values and cash rental rates. It is very helpful if both the tenant and landlord can attend together.

Putting together the right lease isn’t about what is being discussed at the coffee shop, or what a university survey of cash lease rates says; it is about what fits both the landlord and tenant for their circumstance and situation. Attending this presentation will provide a set of ideas to work from as those specifics are discussed.