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Farming help and opinions needed

Boxerdaddy

Boxerdaddy

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2009
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Beaverdale, IA
Just got to thinking other day.... My grandpa farmed for most of his life. He passed away 2 years ago and one thing I wish that I had asked him about was how he farmed. (Corn & soybeans) I grew up only a few miles away in the neighboring town and got to "help" with the harvest sometimes...usually just riding in the tractor or the wagon.


The land has been rented for quite a number of years to a family friend. I have no idea what he pays or any of that because it's really not any of my business. I don't own the land etc. But part of me would like to someday have a part in farming that land..if not just to pay homage to my grandpa. But what I was wondering was what would a fair deal be if lets say I did own the land. I'm not talking renting...like a deal where you split the profits. I provided land..the "renter" would provide the equipment. Should the owner pay for the seed too? This is all just a hypothetical but wondering how much it's worth and what would be a fair deal or would it not be worth it to the farmer. We aren't talking a ton of land here either...only 150 acres or so. What would an "average" acre of corn or soybeans net in profit in eastern central Iowa? Again very general and I know there are a ton of variables.

Anyway just curious as I really know nothing about it and is something I'd kind of like to learn a little more about. Thanks in advance...and feel free to brainstorm any partnerships that you would see as mutually beneficial.
 
At 50% down you'll need somewhere near $600K I'm guessing to buy. Unless you buy on installment of course.
 
The info I am providing may not be completely current for your area.

A 50/50 crop share arrangement usually has both sharing the expenses. (seed, fertilizer, chemical) You provide the land and the tenant supplies the labor/equipment and you split the grain at harvest.

There are other options. The tenant can take all expenses and you get a portion of the harvest. Say a 67/33. With the landlord getting the 1/3

Or you can cash rent the ground but you lose out on the tax benefits.
 
It has changed quite a bit recently but a 50/50 crop share used to be the popular route in terms of what you are thinking. IMO, it's the fairest way. Basically, you provide land, the tenant provides equipment, you split the inputs and you split the crop 50/50.

Just realize, under that scenario you would still be looking at about $300 to put a crop in doing things the right way. Of course that number can vary a little but I don't know your specifics. If you were to own the land, from a landlords point of view, today, cash rent would be a better option. There is going to be a lot of risk whenever you invest in a crop and your risk is not diversified. You are relying on that one piece of land to make itself.
 
What your talking about doing is commonly know as a crop share agreement. I say commonly known, yet it's probably not used as much today as a straight cash rent agreement.

It can be set up many different ways, 50/50 input split with farmer providing equipment and labor is probably the most common.

Here is a link to a study done by ISU that may answer some of your questions.
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/pdf/c2-30.pdf
 
Another thing you could look at is having someone custom farm it. You make all the decisions, purchases, selling, etc, they provide labor and equipment and you pay them a flat fee for their work over the year.

That would get you more hands on management if that was what you are looking for.
 
Tre4ISU said:
It has changed quite a bit recently but a 50/50 crop share used to be the popular route in terms of what you are thinking. IMO, it's the fairest way. Basically, you provide land, the tenant provides equipment, you split the inputs and you split the crop 50/50.

Just realize, under that scenario you would still be looking at about $300 to put a crop in doing things the right way. Of course that number can vary a little but I don't know your specifics. If you were to own the land, from a landlords point of view, today, cash rent would be a better option. There is going to be a lot of risk whenever you invest in a crop and your risk is not diversified. You are relying on that one piece of land to make itself.
Click to expand...

I guess I don't see how it would be that expensive on a 50/50 where you split inputs.

Soybeans $90/acre/2=$45
Seed-$60/acre + Spray-$30/acre=$90/2=$45 then add in $10 for crop insurance.

Corn $335/acre/2=$167.5
Seed-$115/acre + N-$90/acre + P&K-$100/acre + Spraying-$30/acre=$335/2=$167.5 then add in $15 for crop insurance. And add in some additional considerations for side dressing or applying additional dry in the spring.

For N I took 225#'s/acre at $800/ton

Wouldn't the rest of the cost would be incurred by the farmer?

Of course the largest cost consideration would be for the land.
 
How much free time do you have this winter? Try and go to a couple of ISU Extension
meeting this winter. Go sit down and ask the guy who farms your family's farm questions. Seed, chemicals,DO NOT LET HIM USE ROUND UP herbicide alone. Use 2-3 different chemicals, or weeds will grow wild. Fertilizer, insurance, tillage and more. Putting the crop in the ground is not real hard, SELLING your crop makes or breakes you. Where you sell makes a BIG difference, as does WHEN you sell.
I farm 220 acres, half corn and half soybeans. The value of my 2012 crop that I will plant in April of 2012 has gone down in value, what I will get paid for my crop after harvest in October of 2012 , about $25,000. My 2011 crop got hauled to town this week, I sold part of the corn for $5.05/bu and some for $7.22/ bu. $1.17 on 20,000 bu is alot of money at my place.
Sorry for getting LONG. This is a small START. This is like askinf PR about football.
ASK any time.
 
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AllBig12Drinker said:
I guess I don't see how it would be that expensive on a 50/50 where you split inputs.

Soybeans $90/acre/2=$45
Seed-$60/acre + Spray-$30/acre=$90/2=$45 then add in $10 for crop insurance.

Corn $335/acre/2=$167.5
Seed-$115/acre + N-$90/acre + P&K-$100/acre + Spraying-$30/acre=$335/2=$167.5 then add in $15 for crop insurance. And add in some additional considerations for side dressing or applying additional dry in the spring.

For N I took 225#'s/acre at $800/ton

Wouldn't the rest of the cost would be incurred by the farmer?

Of course the largest cost consideration would be for the land.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I wasn't clear or I missed a step. That was the total cost but then you have taxes and such too.
 
R1975P said:
How much free time do you have this winter? Try and go to a couple of ISU Extension
meeting this winter. Go sit down and ask the guy who farms your family's farm questions. Seed, chemicals,DO NOT LET HIM USE ROUND UP herbicide alone. Use 2-3 different chemicals, or weeds will grow wild. Fertilizer, insurance, tillage and more. Putting the crop in the ground is not real hard, SELLING your crop makes or breakes you. Where you sell makes a BIG difference, as does WHEN you sell.
I farm 220 acres, half corn and half soybeans. The value of my 2012 crop that I will plant in April of 2012 has gone down in value, what I will get paid for my crop after harvest in October of 2012 , about $25,000. My 2011 crop got hauled to town this week, I sold part of the corn for $5.05/bu and some for $7.22/ bu. $1.17 on 20,000 bu is alot of money at my place.
Sorry for getting LONG. This is a small START. This is like askinf PR about football.
ASK any time.
Click to expand...
I use Round-up alone and never have any problems. This super weed stuff is a myth.
 
rebecacy said:
I use Round-up alone and never have any problems. This super weed stuff is a myth.
Click to expand...

Go tell that to the people in the South Mr. All Knowing. Round-up alone was not the problem, it was the misuse but the problem does still exist.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-cka5s4AqE]Super Weed Can't Be Killed - YouTube[/ame]
 
rebecacy said:
I use Round-up alone and never have any problems. This super weed stuff is a myth.
Click to expand...

I forgot you worked at Monsanto. Monsanto said the same thing you said 2 years ago. What are they saying now? Why are they adding incentives for more products not manufactured by Monsanto?

Sorry for the derailing.
 
Back on topic. 50/50 crop sharing can work. My mom and uncle had a similar arrangement. We now just rent it to him to stabilize my mom's income in retirement.
 
RR alone? It is not IF it is when you have problems.
Ask Monsanto, ISU, Purdue, it has happened.
1 water hemp 250,000 seeds? That will be a mess in a couple of years.
Good Luck.
 
R1975P said:
RR alone? It is not IF it is when you have problems.
Ask Monsanto, ISU, Purdue, it has happened.
1 water hemp 250,000 seeds? That will be a mess in a couple of years.
Good Luck.
Click to expand...
Mis-use is the problem, not RR alone. Let's put the blame were it belongs. Please. And when glyphosate resistance occurs, there is a whole litany of other products that will take care of the issue.
 
Last edited:
rebecacy said:
Mis-use is the problem, not RR alone. Let's put the blame were it belongs. Please. And when glyphosate resistance occurs, there is a whole litany of other products that will take care of the issue.
Click to expand...

That wasn't what you said. You said the issue of "super weeds" was a myth and its not. There also isn't a whole litany of products with the flexibility of roundup to use either.
 
rebecacy said:
Mis-use is the problem, not RR alone. Let's put the blame were it belongs. Please. And when glyphosate resistance occurs, there is a whole litany of other products that will take care of the issue.
Click to expand...


You guys were told from the beginning (early 90's) when you were bringing it to market that it would be a problem if rotation of chemistry and encouragement of proper usage wasn't address. Instead you went for the cash. History cannot be rewritten.

Thankfully, there are products that can somewhat help people mitigated the effects of RoundUp resistant weeds. That doesn't solve the problem that was avoidable though.
 
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