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Start with a quarterly newsletter and make sure you know how they like to be contacted.

Jerry and Jason Moss

September 9, 2016

2 Min Read
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My son and I farm around 3,000 acres in southwest Iowa. We have had good success attracting new land to rent. Now I’ve got over 40 landlords to manage. I’m starting to worry that I’m going to neglect someone and lose ground as a result. Any suggestions on how to manage these relationships?G.M., Iowa

That’s a lot of landlords to manage for 3,000 acres! Sustained written, periodic communication will be appreciated by the vast majority of landlords, even if they do not have the time or interest to fully read such.

We would suggest a quarterly newsletter, where you lead off with a crops status summary during the growing season, and in the winter with a grain market or land market report.

Always include a section on your conservation and environmental efforts, and pick at least one fun topic to discuss, such as modern farm tech tools, today’s cost of new farm machinery or factory farm myths.

GPS-driven machines, modern planter monitor information and combine yield monitor data will shock most landlords into a higher appreciation of your management intensity and the associated costs. Your primary objective here is to solicit feedback from your landlords, so include your cellphone number and email address with the invite to contact you with comments or concerns.

Lastly, thank them for the opportunity to do business with them.

Other popular landlord PR programs include birthday, Christmas and holiday cards, as well as invites to harvest or a summer farm visit. Use of the phone is a preferred contact, although some younger landlords may want to hear from you by text.

In any case, always sell the pride factor engrained in all of us: “We treat your farm as if it were our farm.”

Jerry and Jason Moss operate Moss Family Farms Inc. [email protected]

About the Author(s)

Jerry and Jason Moss

Jerry and Jason Moss operate Moss Family Farms Inc.

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