2003 Annual Report for LNC00-180
Professional Development for the Adoption of Sustainable Agriculture on Rented Land
Summary
Discussions with four focus groups and interviews with 25 landowners and tenants confirmed the prevailing belief that land rental in Iowa adds a major obstacle to the adoption of sustainable practices. Because of the extremely competitive market for rented land, tenants said they are reluctant even to suggest alternative practices. Other factors included lack of information on profitability of sustainable agriculture, uncertainty due to one-year leasing arrangements, and lack of sufficient technical support for sustainable agriculture from Extension. Currently, the project is focusing on developing some tools to address these obstacles, including sample crop-share leases for organic operations.
Objectives/Performance Targets
Objective 1. To help key agricultural professionals work with farmers and landowners on the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices on rented land.
Objective 2. To collect information on the barriers to the adoption of sustainable agriculture on rented land.
Objective 3. To design training materials and techniques for agricultural professionals on the adoption of sustainable agriculture on rented land.
Objective 4. To train agricultural professionals in Iowa to work with landowners and producers to assist them in the adoption of sustainable agricultural techniques on rented land.
Objective 5. To share project results and training materials with professional development coordinators and others across the North Central region.
Accomplishments/Milestones
Objective 1.
Work on this part of the project started with a discussion with both landowners and tenants at the Practical Farmers of Iowa annual winter conference. A good bit of the discussion centered around the concern that the common crop-share arrangement of a 50-50 split of the crop between landowner and tenant does not fairly reflect the contributions of both in sustainable, and especially in organic, operations. As a result, we are currently working with ISU’s Department of Economics to design sample farm budgets and leases for use in negotiating organic rental arrangements.
In August 2002, a panel of landowners and tenants who are implementing sustainable practices on their rental land was a central feature in a PFI field day. The panelists discussed the diverse ways they accommodated sustainable practices, ranging from adding hay to the crop rotation to having the rented land organically certified.
Objective 2.
Four focus group meetings—one involving tenants, one involving landlords, and two involving agriculture professionals—were held to collect information on the effect of land rental on sustainable agriculture adoption in Iowa. Information from these focus meetings was used to develop questions for 25 one-on-one interviews with landowners and tenants in one county. A report on the findings from this research was submitted with the 2002 annual report. Copies of the research report may be requested from Diane Mayerfeld at dbmayerfeld@wisc.edu.
Objective 3.
A bulletin on considerations and options for landowners and tenants thinking about sustainable practices on their rented land was published in September 2003. Iowa State University (ISU) Extension Bulletin PM-1947, “Considering Sustainable Agriculture on Your Rented Land,” can be ordered from ISU Extension distribution at (515) 294-5247 or viewed on the web at
Objective 4.
In October 2002, members of the project team presented our findings to date to ISU Extension Farm Management Specialists at their in-service training. The specialists expressed interest in the project and their willingness to integrate materials on sustainable agriculture designed for landowners in their contacts with landowners.
An article describing different arrangements to accommodate sustainable practices on rented land was published in PFI’s fall 2002 quarterly newsletter. Copies of “Considering Sustainable Agriculture on Your Rented Land” were sent to all the county Extension offices in Iowa, to all the Farm Management Field Specialists, and to all 100 NRCS district offices.
Objective 5.
A poster on the project findings to date was presented at the National Small Farm Conference in September 2002. The poster was also displayed at the January 2003 PFI Winter Conference. A summary of the research on the effect of land rental on adoption of sustainable agriculture was submitted to the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation in October 2003.
Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes
Information products from this report are available from the NCR-SARE office. Please call 402.472.7081 for copies.
It is still too early to assess the outcomes from this project; however there are some preliminary indications that the project will make a difference.
As mentioned above, ISU’s farm management specialists expressed interest in and support for the project. One specialist has discussed applying for a state program mini-grant to research Midwestern farm leasing materials for information that may relate to adoption of sustainable agriculture. One of the landowners involved in the PFI field day panel discussion described above has indicated she plans to use information from that discussion in future negotiations with her tenant. And at least one landowner who attended the field day has re-negotiated the crop share lease with an organic tenant to more fairly reflect the additional contributions made by the operator in sustainable systems.