Ohio State Workshop Addresses Farmland Leasing Issues

COLUMBUS, Ohio – As farmers and landowners consider options to include in new or renewed land leases, understanding how to use data in negotiations and how to apply legal information to leasing practices could help make the process easier for both sides, experts say.

To help provide guidance and understanding of the financial and legal issues surrounding farmland leasing, Ohio State University Extension’s Agricultural and Resource Law program and Production Business Management program will discuss the topic during a workshop to be held in four sites around the state, said Peggy Hall, Ohio State University Extension’s agricultural and resource law field specialist.

The workshop, which will focus on factors affecting leasing options, is intended both for landowners and farm operators, said Hall, who is also an assistant professor for OSU Extension.

OSU Extension is the outreach arm of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

A goal of the workshop, Hall said, is to share information with landowners and tenants to help them reduce both their financial and legal risks with farmland leasing.

“When it comes to farmland leases, we tend to think first about the economic side in agriculture and how that dictates how much we pay for land and how much profit we can make,” she said. “But there are also legal issues that come with that relationship. This workshop offers insight into how both sides can reduce legal and financial risks.”

Topics to be covered during the workshop include:

• Factors affecting leasing options and rates.
• Evaluating cash rent survey data.
• Farmland leasing options: Fixed and flexible cash leases.
• Creating a legally enforceable lease.
• Legal provisions in farmland leases.
• Analyzing good and bad leasing practices.

The workshops last for three hours and are taught by Hall and Barry Ward, production business management leader with the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics.

Locations and dates for the workshops include:

• Feb. 4 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Fairfield County Ag Center, 831 College Ave., Lancaster, Ohio. Contact Stan Smith at 740-653-5419 to register. A program on the Farm Bill will follow the Farmland Leasing Workshop. Registration fee of $10 includes both programs.

• Feb. 6 from 1-4 p.m. at Kent State University-Tuscarawas, 330 University Drive N.E., New Philadelphia. Contact Chris Zoller at 330-339-2337 to register.  Registration is $15. 

• Feb. 11 from 6-9 p.m. at the Paulding County Extension Office, 503 Fairground Drive, Paulding. Contact Sarah Noggle at 419-399-8225 to register.  Registration is $20 by Feb. 4.

• Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Greene County Career Center, Adult Education Building, 2960 W. Enon Rd., Xenia. Contact Mary Griffith at 937-372-9972, ext. 114 by Feb. 16 for free registration. 

Additional information about the workshops is online at aglaw.osu.edu.