Cash rent on unseeded acres?

[frustrated1]

The discussion of late has been weather or not us cash renters should have paid, or should have to pay, for the acres that were unable to be seeded because of spring flooding. This year being an abnormally wet spring with up to 25% unseeded on some fields. Any input?

[TOM4CWB]

Frustrated1,

I say the reasonable way would be to split the differece... if this can be worked out by consensus with good feelings!

Otherwise follow your contract to the last letter of the last word!

[Lifer]

Do you guys "split the difference" when you get a really good crop with a really good price?

[kamichel]

Tuff one. The year before this one when we had 20 percent unseeded I sucked it up and paid. Was able to fall back on the caise program in my opinion then didn't qualify anyway actually grew the best ever crop on the hill tops. One of the land lords actually pumped water for 3 days in each of last year and this one. First year a C&D ditch overflowed and could not run out. Second year record snow melt runoff. He got paid disaster assistance for it. Like lifer says you can look forward to a better year. Not likely your rent will increase after going through a bad year. How about pay up and get a couple years extra contract at current price? Just an idea. Does your land look like you can plant it next year? Ours here is now dry and would be better to see more moisture. Hard to believe after the 2 wet years we had that we can be going into winter with dry soils possibly short of moisture. Even so I am spending 30 plus days scraping and some on rented land also. I keep the ditches up to date on the rented land and fall spray all, some others here do not. If a farmer feels he should pay less than an agreed upon price then that should be a case by case decision.

[Burbert]

That's the beauty of cash rent. It is payable, whether or not renter gets a crop or not. Landlord is entitled to get paid, period. Whinning and snivelling are not an option, cause of bad conditions. Did crop insurance pay you for unseeded acres?
If you didn't have crop insurance, thats your problem, you should have had it, not the landlords!

[wmoebis]

I think this should be put in your original agreement. If the landlord is to share the risk it would need to be reflected in the price of the over all agreement. In most cases the landlords fixed costs don't change if there is a good crop or poor crop and the leasee carries the crop insurance to compensate for unseeded acres.

[SASKFARMER3]

In our area land is hard to find. Period so if one cash rents, is it worth loosing a couple quarters over 20 acres not being seeded. Will $600.00
sink your farm?
But as my fatherinlaw always says it doesn't cost you anything to ask for the discount.

[dfarms11]

Take this into consideration, I have about 400 acres rented with about 100 acres of it gumbo. All were seeded, but the gumbo this year produced basically nothing! At least with unseeded acres, thats just it they are unseeded which equals lost rent. These gumbo acres of mine lost rent, seed, fert, chem, and equipment expense! Still has to pay all the bills.

[dfarms11]

I feel your pain, what I would do is just pay the bill for this year and try to negotiate a new contract for next year.

[frustrated1]

We won't be losing the land, the rent is already paid, a compromise in thier favour on all accounts. We do occasionally lose a few acres to water but never even close to what this year was so just did'nt know how to handle it. Was also the "round table" discussion topic with views on both sides, much as here, some a lot more adamant when in person. Because this is such an abnormal occurence we have nothing in writing as to how to deal with it. As far as unseeded benefits with "crop insurance" they kept changing the rules and whitling away until we were actually paid for less than half of the acres unseeded. But that whole "crop insurance" and CAIS programming is how I got my username in the first place........

[mcfarms]

Did you not get the unseeded acreage benfit from crop ins. It should cover most if not all of a rental payment. If you have it in the contract one thing if not, then you should have to pay the rent or risk at the least losing the lease on the land.

[mcfarms]

cool, answering my question while I was asking it, we saw the same nickle and dime act from crop ins. this year too on smaller unseeded patches but it's at the least a good lesson for all of us to be sure things like this are covered in rented land. Though I know in my area if you rent it, you pay for it and you take the risk, thats why it's cash rent not crop share.
Even though my landlord keeps wanting crop share not cash rent. Could be because he's making 3 times the cash rent avergae in this area year after year. Dang Dad's anyway lol.