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| You have to sell yourself. You have to make friends but first be a friend. It's building up a reputation as a likeble chap. Someone people enjoy as a pleasant person. Sometimes it means getting involved in church or community activities Being helpful and kind are good attributes.
Being respectful is a must. Often time landowners offer opinions and expect those opinions to be respected. You want to be partners in progress instead of adversaries trying to gain the advantage at the other ones expense.
If the landlord requests too much rent, thank him for the offer but you don't feel comfortable with those terms. Always thank them for the opportunity you have been given, even if it is the first year or year 30. Work for them and try to give them an extra advantage if you can do so with out costing you too much. I used to store grain in unused bins for my landlords at no charge. Just something I could do to give them the advantage of basis improvement without much out of my pocket. I quit that because of the risk of the crop going out of condition.
I bought a big trailer sprayer and gave them free spraying. It didn't cost me much as I saved costs on my own acres and we both saved on chemical purchases. Keep track of seed planting and rebate a check for unused seed if there is a bag or so left over. They like unexpected checks coming in the mail. In the old days there was unexpected chemical rebates. Of course, these farms were share rented.
The point being to make them a dollar or save them a dollar when you can. It truly makes them think you are looking out for their interests. it feels pretty good to end a 30 year relationship with people that think they are really indebted to you and appreciate all you have done for them. Especially when you have been blessed with an opportunity that seldom happens. 27 years without a cross word or an invoice challenged and never an alternative tenant considered. Plus they sold me the farm for fair market value at the end.
Like I say, I think highly of my landlords and am so grateful for the opportunites offered me. Yes even those that chose to rent to others. There are so many good tenant farmers in our area and these landowners can choose about anybody and not be disappointed. So the fact they chose me is much appreciated. I'll not disparage them. They helped me greatly.
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Land Rental Ethics-How do you guys add acres?
