2018 SWCS International Annual Conference July 29-August 1, 2018 Albuquerque Convention Center

1. Conservation on Rented Farmland: Developing
Effective Outreach for Non-Operating
Landowners
Peggy Petrzelka
Utah State University
peggy.petrzelka@usu.edu
Jennifer Filipiak
American Farmland Trust
American Farmland Trust gratefully acknowledges funding & technical
support from The Nature Conservancy, Rachel’s Network, the Non-
Operator Landowner work group, and Great Lakes Foundation.

2. Non-Operator Landowners
 Non-operator landowners (NOLs or NOLOs)—those
who own agricultural land, but do not operate it (i.e.
farm it) themselves.
 Resident or Absentee
 Motivations for Owning Vary--Investors,
Recreational Interests, Family Interests, Former
farmers
 Non-operator landlords—those who own ag land
and rent it to a farm operator

4. So…..so what?????
 A number of studies have shown insecure land
tenure caused mainly by short term leases does
not contribute to soil conservation (e.g. Nowak
& Korsching 1983; Soule et al. 2000)
 We know that farmers are less likely to do
various conservation practices on land they
rent, if they are not assured they have that land
after a year (e.g. building up soil health with
cover crops or no-till, etc.)
 And we also know that some non-operating
landowners want conservation done on their
land!

5. What we know….
 Data on owners of US farmland extremely
dated until TOTAL.
- Agricultural Economic Land Ownership
Survey (AELOS) conducted in 1988 & 1999.
 Tenure, Ownership, & Transition of
Agricultural Land (TOTAL), replaced AELOS,
conducted in 2014.

6. What we know from TOTAL
 39% of 911 million acres (368,668,620
hectares) of farmland in the US is rented.
 Women make up 37% of agricultural
landlords.
 For those farmers who rent land, most rent
from multiple landlords.
 57% of rented acres are renewed annually.

7. American Farmland Trust
Non Operating Landowner survey
 Implementing 10 state survey of 300 NOLs (150
male, 150 female) with a focus on:
 The NOL-renter relationship.
 Communication in the relationship.
 Conservation attitudes and behaviors.
 Conservation outreach needs.
States include: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Texas,
Washington, Arkansas, North Carolina, Kansas,
California, Ohio

8. Methods (sample)
 Lists purchased from Farm Market ID (FMID).
 “Owner” only lists (no “Operators”)
 Double-checked using Core Logic & deed searches.
 Individuals on list considered to be primary decision
maker
 1,000 NOLs who own land in Iowa, Illinois or Indiana
 500 male & 500 female landowners
 25 acres or more
 Acre range of low to high.
 Land distributed throughout the respective state.
 Landowner could live anywhere.
 Trusts eliminated.

9. Methods (survey)
 Mailed advance postcard detailing the
survey.
 1st survey with $2.00 cash incentive, pre-
addressed return envelope.
 Reminder postcard sent.
 2nd survey sent, pre-addressed return
envelope.

10. Total N’s and
Response Rates
N Response Rate
Iowa 323 39%
Illinois* 265 28%
Indiana* 247 28%
* 500 more surveys currently distributed in these states to achieve N of
300, all data preliminary

11. Selected Demographics
Iowa Illinois Indiana
Age (average) 73 70 71
Gender
Male
Female
51%
49%
58%
42%
57%
43%
Education
High school graduate
Some college, no degree
Bachelor’s degree
35%
17%
20%
20%
18%
28%
33%
18%
14%
Net Farm Income (pre-tax, 2017)
< $38,000
$25,001-$75,000
$75,001-$125,000
38%
42%
14%
61%
28%
4%
69%
22%
4%
Experience with farming
I/we have operated a farm
I/we have helped our parents farm
I/we helped another relative farm
I/we have worked on a non-relative’s farm
Neither I nor my spouse (if any) have farmed
56%
24%
7%
3%
10%
29%
31%
6%
6%
28%
38%
34%
4%
7%
17%

12. Selected land & lease
characteristics
Iowa Illinois Indiana
Acres farmland owned (avg.) 248 221 183
Acres rented out (avg.) 207 191 128
Live on parcel of land 43% 30% 52%
Miles live from land if non-resident (avg.) 62 54 53
Sole owner 66% 62% 68%
The activity done most often on land
Crop Production 95% 96% 98%
Lease characteristics
Written
Verbal
Annual
Cash rent (fixed cash and flex cash)
Crop share
52%
47%
84%
71%
24%
38%
62%
72%
31%
65%
29%
70%
73%
43%
53%

13. % indicating interest in receiving
information and/or technical
assistance
Iowa Illinois Indiana
Water quality improvement 47% 34% 37%
Soil erosion control 46% 38% 37%
Government conservation
programs
43% 33% 31%
Soil fertility improvement 41% 36% 40%

14. % indicating agree on statement
regarding land management
Iowa Illinois Indiana
I trust my operator to make good conservation
decisions
94% 92% 92%
I am committed to my operator’s continuation
as a renter on my land
87% 87% 87%
I am comfortable asking my operator to use
certain conservation practices on the land
84% 82% 79%
I am comfortable extending the length of my
operator’s lease to facilitate implementation of
conservation practices on the land
81% 83% 79%

15. % indicating agree on statement
regarding land management
Iowa Illinois Indiana
I am comfortable asking my operator to
amend or make an addendum to our lease
requiring conservation practices
73% 69% 59%
I would be willing to include lease provisions
relating to specific conservation practices (e.g.
grassed waterways, no-till, adaptive nutrient
management, cover crops, filter strips and
wildlife habitat)
61% 55% 49%
I would be willing to include a lease provision
that requires my operator to implement soil
erosion control practices to conserve/improve
soil health
56% 53% 46%

16. Most important sources of
information
Iowa Illinois Indiana
My farm operator/lessee 80% 75% 74%
USDA Natural Resource Conservation
Service (NRCS)
67% 53% 47%
Local County Soil & Water
Conservation District (SWCD)
62% 60% 53%
State University Extension 60% 46% 39%

17. ADDRESSING NUTRIENT RUNOFF FROM LEASED
FARMLAND IN THE GREAT LAKES: WORKING WITH
NON-OPERATING LANDOWNERS & THEIR LESSEES TO
IMPROVE WATER QUALITY
Funded by Great Lakes Protection Fund
 Fund’s mission is to identify, demonstrate &
promote regional action to enhance the health of
the Great Lakes ecosystem.
 3 Year Project focused on developing & piloting a
set of tools—including creative lease arrangements
& innovative communication & education
strategies—that will increase conservation
practices on rented land.

18. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTRUAL
LEASES
 Legally no different from an “ordinary” Lease
 Typically involves a “partnership” between Land
owner and Farm Operator
 Typically require an “investment” in the land
 Tend to have a longer term
 May need to address tillage practices
 Cover Crops
 No-Till
 Manure Application

19. WNOLs in Ohio (n=12)
Please indicate your confidence in the various topics below and after today’s meeting,
on a scale where 1=No Confidence, 2=Somewhat Confident, 3= Confident, 4=Very
Confident
Before After
Knowing where to seek technical assistance on developing
farmland lease arrangements.
1.78 3.45
Knowing the different types of leases that can be
developed for farmland rental.
2.00 3.25
Discussing the leasing terms with my renter that could
make the adoption of conservation practices on my land
less risky for him/her, such as a multi-year lease.
1.91 3.09
Discussing the incorporation of conservation practices in
leasing arrangements with my family or co-owners.
2.11 2.89
Developing a written lease that is satisfactory to me. 1.90 3.08

20. WNOLs in Ohio (n=12)
As a result of this meeting, how likely are you to
discuss your leasing arrangement with your
renter?
92% indicated very likely!!

21. WNOLs in New York
(n=11)
Please indicate your confidence in the various topics below and after today’s meeting,
on a scale where 1=No Confidence, 2=Somewhat Confident, 3= Confident, 4=Very
Confident
Before After
Knowing where to seek technical assistance on developing
farmland lease arrangements.
1.56 3.36
Developing a written lease that is satisfactory to me. 2.10 3.18
Discussing the leasing terms with my renter that could
make the adoption of conservation practices on my land
less risky for him/her, such as a multi-year lease.
2.00 3.09
Discussing the incorporation of conservation practices in
leasing arrangements with my family or co-owners.
1.90 3.00
Knowing the different types of leases that can be
developed for farmland rental.
1.90 2.73

22. WNOLs in New York
(n=11)
As a result of this meeting, how likely are you to
discuss your leasing arrangement with your
renter?
64% indicated very likely!!

23. One way….
Top two actions taken as result of attending learning circle
Number of
women who
took this action
Number /
% women who took
action
(n=53)
Number / % of all
women interviewed
who took action
(N=73)
Spoke with farmer
specifically about
conservation
implementation on
land
22 42% 30%
Implemented
conservation practices
on land
16 31% 22%

24. Preliminary Conclusions
 There is interest in conservation among
non-operator landowners!
 There is interest in altering leases to
include conservation practices!
 NRCS, SWCD, Extension and others can
all have a role to play in this!

25. Thank you!!
 The questions crafted in the survey come from
invaluable input from the Non-Operating Landowner
Committee, as well as previous work done by Agren,
Inc. Iowa State University Sociology Extension, &
Purdue University Natural Resources Social Science
Lab.
 Questions???

26. Farm Operators in New
York (n=6)
Please indicate your confidence in the various topics below and after today’s meeting,
on a scale where 1=No Confidence, 2=Somewhat Confident, 3= Confident, 4=Very
Confident
Before After
Knowing the different types of leases that can be
developed for farmland rental.
2.00 3.33
Discussing the leasing terms with my landowner that could
make the adoption of conservation practices on their land
less risky for them, such as a multi-year lease.
1.83 3.33
Discussing leasing terms with my landowner that could
make the adoption of conservation practices on their land
less risky for me, such as a multi-year lease.
2.00 3.33
Developing a written lease that is satisfactory to me. 1.80 3.40
Knowing where to seek technical assistance on developing
farmland lease arrangements.
1.83 3.67