Monday, February 14, 2011
Attract More Land To Farm By Building Relationships
You have the desire, the ability, the equipment, now only if you had more acreage to farm this year. Your operation would be more profitable and there would be more revenue that your family needs. If only. If only. But how do you get more farmland? How do you get noticed by landowners and farm managers? How do you get to the point of an interview and the chance to close the deal?
Many young and senior farmers alike have thought those very same thoughts, and come away empty. A few have succeeded and have picked up several hundred acres to either crop share or cash rent. But anyone can cash rent if they have enough money, can’t they? Money talks, but so does a solid farm operator who can successfully market him/herself and build a relationship with a landowner. There may be many landowners looking only for a return on investment, and that is their prerogative. But there are other landowners whose land has been in their family for many years and they want it to remain that way by developing a relationship with an operator for ensure future generations will retain the farm.
So what is the secret for getting more land to farm? The answer is marketing yourself and building a relationship. The relationship is best built with good business practices, honesty, and good communications, says Kansas St. ag economist Kevin Dhuyvetter:
1) Be very business-like (talk about return on investment, etc.)
2) Point out information about family business (i.e., multi-generation, people involved, mission statement, etc.)
3) Have farm “resume” and/or website that can be shared with potential landowners
4) Be honest and up front with all communication
5) Be flexible to meet landowners’ objectives (i.e., if they want crop share do that, if they want cash rent do that, etc…)
Dhuyvetter says it is often heard that, “the landowners are just going to rent to the big guys anyway” type of comments. In all of my years I’ve yet to have a landowner tell me they were going to rent to the “big guys” because they were big. Rather, they rent to them because they see them as successful producers that will do a good job of farming their land and thus they will get a good return on their investment. Also, the big farms often have a next generation coming along and thus they feel they are helping a young person get started (i.e., the family issue does come into play).”
Kansas State’s Dhuyvetter says, “If I am a landowner I want somebody that comes to me that appears (it is often perception rather than fact initially)
1) To be very professional,
2) Is a good farmer using current technology?
3) Understands that what I own (land) has value just like what he owns (machinery, labor, etc.),
4) Is honest and a good communicator (nothing bugs me more than tenants that are not up front with their landowners), and
5) Is not always whining about how tough it is to make a living farming. I know this last one sounds a little weird, but I have countless examples of conversations with landowners that hear this and my answer is always – relieve them of their agony and terminate the lease (there is ALWAYS somebody willing to come in and take over the land – okay, maybe not always, but probably 99% of the time…).
Those may be issues that are at the forefront when the landowner is making the decision, but how do you get in front of them initially? Cream rises to the top. If you are not the cream you won’t get noticed. So, much of your background work is going to be focused on becoming the cream of the crop. Let everyone know you want to farm more land, and word will ultimately get to someone who will put you on the short list for an interview. Keep your communication lines open with newsletters, a website, and conduct your own public relations campaign. Be sure you have a farm resume.
If you are an agribusiness professional, you will be known for talking about returns on investment, your goals and objectives, and being customer oriented. (Read that landowner oriented.) Your public relations effort to market yourself as a capable farm operator will be in competition with “big” operators who may be paying premium cash rents. You will measure success by not outbidding them, but paying lower cash rent and still getting the land.
Put yourself in the mind of a landowner and identify what they would like to see in a good operator. Those desires probably revolve around: net farm income, the least risky lease, good soil conservation practices, the appearance of the farm, and maintenance of soil fertility, among others.
Your marketing campaign will probably include a newsletter that is attractive, identifies your farming philosophy, and discusses crop progress. It may be a means of driving the interest of potential partners to your Internet website. One of the best things your website can do is show a landowner pictures of their crop in the field, particularly if the landowner does not live anywhere near the farm. While resources like Facebook may not interest an elderly landowner, it may be of interest to young landowners with whom you may want to cultivate that relationship. But resources like a website, YouTube, and newsletters can provide an information channel that keeps landowners interested in what you are doing for them, and how you are maintaining that relationship from the tractor seat.
Summary:
Expanding your acreage may be a possibility with a good marketing and public relations campaign about your abilities as a farm operator, and showing landowners that you are an agricultural professional and a good businessman or woman. Keeping a good information channel open helps cultivate a relationship with landowners, which many will want regardless of the rental arrangement.
Posted by Stu Ellis on 02/14 at 11:13 AM | Permalink