# Rent Offer



## Hokelund Farm (Feb 4, 2014)

For some of you other southern MN guys...

What kind of offer would you put in?

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/grd/5445862558.html

I replied asking how long has it been in hayground, and what has the typical yield been?

What other questions should I be asking?

Not sure what good hayground goes for around here. I might have to upgrade my baler....and rake....


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Could you get some yield info from the landlord?Soil types could vary alot,sand or clay knobs can reduce the yield ALOT.


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## Hokelund Farm (Feb 4, 2014)

The landlord is the local Dentist. Very nice lady. And the former renters live just down the road - pretty big dairy.

I asked her for yield info and history. I might be better off asking the former renter...


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Hokelund Farm said:


> The landlord is the local Dentist. Very nice lady. And the former renters live just down the road - pretty big dairy.
> I asked her for yield info and history. I might be better off asking the former renter...


Depends on why they're the former and not the current renter.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

We rent a lot of ground that has to stay in hay. I would make sure there are no special terms. Especially you can harvest and maintain the feild as you see fit. I ran into deals over the years you couldn't use herbicide you couldn't use fertilizer you had to delay the first harvest until after some creature was done nesting. Where I'm at I feild like that you could probably count on approximately 5 ton of hay annually. There was a time I ran after that stuff and paid 100 bucks per acre . Is that still were nearby me now I would probably only offer $55 - 75, but more than likely the markets are different in your area


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Pretty ground. Awefully hilly.


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## FarmandRanch (Dec 5, 2015)

Is there anyway you could check with either the locals to see what cash rent is going for, or another good source as long as no personal information is discussed is your CPA. They would know what everyone has been paying, but for obvious reason they would not be able to say who paid what to whom......


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

If it was here and would make 5'ton acre and my situation of too much equipment and not enough ground, probably $150/acre.


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## Hokelund Farm (Feb 4, 2014)

8350HiTech said:


> Depends on why they're the former and not the current renter.


The previous landlords take pretty good care of their ground.

She said they bought land a little closer and no longer needed to rent hers (other side of town - probably 7-10 miles).

One major issue is that I have never had to market this much hay before. And I don't have the storage to keep it all indoors.

A wheel rake and more reliable baler would be a must, but if it's a mutli-year rental that could pay off pretty quickly. And I work at an implement dealer so I usually have access to decent deals.

I'm guessing a pretty conservative estimate would be 7 1000# round bales per acre for the whole season. Probably more like 4 ton/acre.


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## Thorim (Jan 19, 2015)

I don't know in your area but in mine tiled land rents for a lot more an acre also tack on a bit more if it is irrigated...


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

That's a pretty big jump in acreage if you don't have storage for the hay or good equipment. However, it could be an opportunity that is rare to obtain for many of us...

I think a lot comes down to your goals, desires and abilities.

-More hay doesn't help you if you can sell it or store it.

-Do you have animals to feed it to?

-Maybe its time to put up a hay barn..

What are your long term goals?


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## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

I'd make sure to talk to the previous tenants and get it soil sampled before diving in. Seeing the larger dairies in my area chase after land they don't seem to let go of any unless there's something very undesirable about it. Just saying I'd be skeptical about the 10 mile distance being their main hangup.

Not trying to scare, just be sure you are as informed as you can be.


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## MDill (Feb 8, 2015)

One thing that is a good resource that you may or may not have used yet is USDA Websoil survey, you can look the field up and mark out an AOI to see exactly how much you would be renting and also what the soil types are under it.

http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I'm wondering how the soil fertility tests.It's far enough away that they probably didn't get manure hauled to it.You could take a soil test quick and get it back in a few days to check to see if they mined the fertility out of it.

It sounds like the grass rd bale market is pretty bad in your area,what I was told anyway.What do you think you can get it sold for?Do you have a market for it before you start?Sm sqrs a option for the horse market in that area?


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## Hokelund Farm (Feb 4, 2014)

I'm pretty sure the former tenants hauled manure there. They have 2 huge spreaders that are running a lot. I'll double check though.

There is a good market for Small Squares with all the horsey people around - but they would need to be sold out of the field because I don't have storage for that many. And my current square bale system is a 24T and hand stacking on wagons.

A small round bale has a decent market here as well as most horse people have a tractor to handle small rounds.

My long term goal is to be farming and running my two fitness clubs full time. I currently run the two clubs, work full time at an implement dealer, and just run 30 acres with a small herd of beef cattle. So this would be a huge jump.

We round bale with a IH 1086 and NH 853.

Cut with White 2-85 and NH 492.

Rake with a NH 258 and an old Oliver if there is a 2nd driver around.

Transporting I'm guessing I'd hire out, unless I picked up a bale trailer.

To get anything done in a semi time efficient manner I'm assuming I would need to upgrade cutters, rakes, and balers (our baler is REALLY slow). I generally don't do debt, but a jump of this size in my situation it would be necessary.

There is no way I'd be able to have all the details worked out before making an offer. But a few main details would be nice. Storage and marketing of that many bales is a big concern.


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

Where do you get the hay for your cattle from. Do you have more land that you cut but could convert to cattle and use this for your hay?


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## Hokelund Farm (Feb 4, 2014)

We have a 10 acres alfalfa/grass field, an 8 acre permanent pasture, and 20 acres of fenced hay field that can be grazed or cut. I do plan on expanding the herd with that 20 acres (this will be the first season it's grazed), but not sure how big of a dent that would put in 78 acres worth of hay. I think we end up feeding roughly 175 round bales over the winter - grazing season generally don't feed any.


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

Roll the everything you have to cattle and cut the 78 acres. You could drill some more alfalfa on the 78 acres. How many cattle are you running now? I would good for it and just concentrat on the 78 acres for hay. What would the owner of the 78 acres feel about grazing a few cattle on the land?


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## Hokelund Farm (Feb 4, 2014)

Thanks for the input. With running two fitness clubs, working full time, and running part of the farm while not living on the farm. I don't think having cattle in two locations will be possible.

I hate to completely pass up the opportunity because I think the rent will be pretty reasonable. But completely upgrading my hay line-up might be a deal breaker.

Being a Vermeer, Krone, Massey, McCormick, Gehl, JCB, and lots of other forage lines, maybe I could "demo" equipment every time I needed hay done


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

You never know until you try????


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

Do you know how the lady feels about you renting all of it from her and then sub-letting some of it to someone else (as long as they honor the same terms that you agreed to)? She may just not want to have to deal with multiple people renting different chunks.

As far as storing the round bales, there are several tarps out there that you could use to cover what you can't get into a barn until you get them sold. I know it's not ideal, but it would be better than just having them completely out in the weather.


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## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

Cutting 70 acres with a 492 requires a little seat time with you working full time unless you hire someone. Are you able to take off at the dealership when you need to make hay? A lot of the horse people don't have a lot of storage and buy hay during the winter as needed. Around here the market is better in winter, also then you have to deal with people picking up hay or deliver. I have some each way. What a pain when you are waiting for someone to come for some hay when you told someone else you would deliver at a certain time.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Around here anyway, if someone put 80 acres of hay on Craigslist to rent, it wouldn't be reasonable even if it it started out with that intent. Calls would flood in and the landlord would start seeing the dollar signs.

Anyway, it sounds awfully daunting to me unless you're going to hire a good chunk of it done. There's nothing wrong with that to be able to move on it this year but I'm still not sure how you'd handle the storage issue.


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## Hokelund Farm (Feb 4, 2014)

Yeah thats a good point, but I don't THINK that is the case here. She is the local dentist and very nice (doesn't mean she won't chase the dollars). She wants to keep it in hayground and put it on craigslist more so because I don't think she has been in the loop in a long time. The former renter had it for 20 years.

If I put in an offer and end up getting it, I think I'd try to find a buyer and not worry about storing it at this point.



8350HiTech said:


> Around here anyway, if someone put 80 acres of hay on Craigslist to rent, it wouldn't be reasonable even if it it started out with that intent. Calls would flood in and the landlord would start seeing the dollar signs.
> 
> Anyway, it sounds awfully daunting to me unless you're going to hire a good chunk of it done. There's nothing wrong with that to be able to move on it this year but I'm still not sure how you'd handle the storage issue.


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## MtnHerd (Jul 6, 2011)

How is the haylage market in your area? If you are having to get another roller anyway, get one that can make haylage and the storage would not be as much of a problem. There are several guys here that sell tractor-trailer loads of it every fall and winter. I put it up, but only for my own use. It is nice not having to have barns taken up with hay. The other thing is you can talk to someone who already has a market for square bales and has equipment (like a high capacity square baler and a bale baron) that would make it easier. You could partner on part of the land with them to make small squares to sell and do the rest in rolls. Just a thought. I would love to have that much flat land available...


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## Hokelund Farm (Feb 4, 2014)

I've never made haylage and don't really know much about it. Plenty of dairy and beef guys around though so I'm sure there is a decent market.


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## Hugh (Sep 23, 2013)

Tell the dentist you are going to soil test. If it needs heavy liming, I would stay away from that. Adjusting pH is a long term investment. Also check P, another longer term investment. N is a short term investment. If the pH is good, then offer rock bottom for your area. DO NOT SHARE YOUR SOIL TEST RESULTS WITH ANYONE.


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