Five Questions Every Landowner Should Ask Their Tenant This Harvest
By Jeremy Sills, President
Harvest is the one time of year when you can see how the farm really did. It’s also when small problems show up: a wet spot that’s gotten bigger, a waterway that’s washing, weeds that got away. If you own farmland but don’t farm it yourself, these five questions will tell you most of what you need to know.
1. How did it yield, field by field?
A farm-wide average can hide a field that’s slipping. Ask for yield by field, or the yield map if your tenant has one, and compare it with last year.
2. Did you see any drainage or erosion problems?
Tile blowouts, standing water, gullies and washed-out waterways are easier to fix this fall than next spring, and much cheaper than the lost bushels they cause.
3. What’s the fall plan for fertility and tillage?
A big crop takes a lot of phosphorus and potassium with it. Ask what’s being put back, and whether fall tillage is planned on ground that’s prone to erosion.
4. Were there weed escapes, and what’s the plan?
Waterhemp that goes to seed this fall is next year’s problem, and the year after’s.
5. Are we on the same page for 2027?
In Iowa, a farm lease generally carries over on the same terms unless written notice ended it by September 1. If either of you wants to change something, now is the time to talk it through while there’s plenty of time before spring.
Not sure your rent is where it should be?
If you’re not sure whether your farm is renting for what it should, or what it’s worth today, start with our Free Farm Review. It’s free, there’s no obligation, and we’ll usually have it back to you within two business days.