By Hannah Kerkhof

With suburban sprawl, solar farms and industrial park development on the rise, farmers might fear for the security of the land they lease. This is especially prevalent in the central part of the state.

Additionally, young and new farmers struggle to compete for land when corporations are willing to pay more than the farmer to buy the land. This is hindering the growth of new farmers who might not be able to afford renting all their land.

At the heart of the issue is the relationship that exists between a farmer and landowner. As farm sizes continue to increase, higher percentages of the land are owned by people outside of the farm. Retiring farmers are key players in ensuring farmland stays agricultural.

Keeping land in farming

Gary Berkshire farmed with his dad in Cass County, Ind., for all his life, but he knew that he would be the last generation of his family to farm. So, he started searching for someone to farm his ground.

“Our idea was to find somebody who needed a leg up,” Berkshire recalls. “It wasn’t about the money. It was about helping someone else get started.”

After keeping an eye on a few farmers in the area for almost three years, Berkshire decided to approach young Dylan Christopher, a beginning farmer, about renting his ground.

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That was about three years ago, and the two have had a mutually beneficial working relationship since.

Michael Langemeier, an agricultural economics professor at Purdue University and associate director of the Center for Commercial Agriculture, says that building relationships between landowners and farmers is crucial. At the heart of this is communication.

“I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to communicate with each other,” Langemeier says.

He adds that farmers need to build a unique relationship with each landlord they have. Some will want to be more involved with the process than others. Berkshire is one who loves to stay involved and works to continue building the value of the land.

Staying involved

“We went one year without the pivot, and the first thing Gary did that very next year was put the pivot up,” Christopher says.

This pivot was one of the first things they collaborated on, and they both agree that it has been one of the best things for their relationship. Berkshire says that it helps him stay involved with the farm and how the crops are doing. Christopher says this center pivot is part of something bigger, helping them cultivate a solid relationship with a common goal to better the land.

“He has always wanted me to succeed on the farm,” Christopher says. “We talk once a week, most of the time about how our families are doing. We just have that personal relationship.”

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Berkshire’s willingness to participate in farm management and share advice is something that Christopher enjoys.

“It’s nice for me,” Christopher says. “I don’t know what I would do without him.”

Berkshire shares that a lot of people in the area were confused when he put the pivot in, since he was retired from farming. But it made perfect sense to him. “It helps the farmer, so he knows he’s got a crop,” Berkshire says. “It helps me because it locks in cash rent, and it raises the land value immediately. When I looked at it, I was going to get all that money back.”

COMMON GROUND: Working together on projects such as pivots will not only improve the value of the land and the quality of the crops but also can grow the relationship between the farmer and landowner. This was the case for Christopher and Berkshire. (Hannah Kerkhof)

Christopher says that the pivot has helped make all the difference when it comes to yield. He is seeing numbers never produced on that ground before.

“When I started farming, a good yield around here was 80 bushels of corn to the acre,” Berkshire says. “If you had 100, man, you were treated like a king. In my lifetime, we have tripled those numbers on fewer available acres.”

The pair emphasized the importance of production increases on fewer acres as Indiana and all of the Midwest sees land loss to urban development. As much as farmers hate to hear it, Christopher and Berkshire know that land loss for farmers is something that has always existed and will continue to exist.

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“You can’t stop the land loss,” Berkshire adds. “As much as you want to stop it, you can’t stop it. People must have places to live. Factories have to be built.”

However, Berkshire believes that relationships like the one he has cultivated with Christopher can help farmers in areas threatened by urban development retain their land for years to come.

Find a lease arrangement that works

An important part of the relationship between landlord and farmer is finding a type of lease that works best to fit the needs of both parties. Langemeier highlights three specific types of leases for farms to consider: cash rent, flex and crop share.

“If the grower would want to share risk more fully, then you move toward the crop share,” Langemeier says. “If the landlord really doesn’t want very much risk, then they move toward the fixed cash rent, which is really common in Indiana and other Corn Belt states.”

Cash rent is the most basic form of leasing ground, with a flat rate paid each year. Crop-share leases offer the landowners more share in the financial risks and rewards that come with farming. Flex leases combine aspects of the two.

Berkshire has seen different types of leases become popular through the years. However, he still prefers the standard cash-rent system.

“They have talked about flexible rents and crop share since the ’70s,” Berkshire says. “Times are tough, and times get good. It’s a cycle.”

Just say something

Christopher’s advice for young farmers is to buy land when possible. But he advises that young farmers should not be afraid to approach farmers reaching retirement about leasing land.

“Don’t go in over your head, but take the risk and make the conversations happen,” Berkshire adds. “Some may be awkward, and you don’t want to say something. But until you say something to that landowner, they don’t know that you are interested.”

Once you begin working with a landowner, it is important to find which lease arrangement makes the most sense for both of you. Langemeier emphasizes that it is all up to personal preference, and he shares that communication is key. Another way he recommends farmers and landlords create clear communication is through crop reports.

“Particularly, crop reports are key for the landlords that used to farm that ground,” Langemeier says. “They want updates.”

Open communication is not only for those involved in crop-share and flex leases, but also those in cash-rent leases, where the landlord might be more removed from the farm. Communication will be a pivotal component of negotiating leases and cultivating positive relationships.

Kerkhof is a senior in agricultural communication at Purdue.