Share Cropping

Tim in Montana · Aug 2, 2011

What is the normal share that a landlord receives, when share cropping? Farmer putting all the money in for crop, from getting seed bed ready to harvest.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 2, 2011

Assume farmer paying all imputs and doing all the work. Heard anywhere from 25 to 50%. Considering this arrangement and believe 1/3 would be fair. Fifty percent with no risk is a little aggressive, and likely assures the farmer is going to cut corners.

tjdub · Aug 2, 2011

50/50 always used to be the norm here, but these days it seems like fuel prices are tipping the ratio towards the guy who's burning the fuel.

willie in mn · Aug 2, 2011

IIRC this was the way my Dad rented many years ago. Things have probably changed now, good land was selling for $300/acre then. That's right, 3 hundred not thousand.
Corn- 50-50 for seed, fertilizer & crop. We did all the work, furnished all the fuel. Crop was divided by counting rows, lands of 40 for us, 40 for owner, kept the average across the field mostly even.
Small grain- 40% for owner, 60% for us. We furnished all the seed etc. Crop was divided into 2 wagons at threshing machine. Read the tally meter on machine, switch spout from one wagon to other. Owner stored his share of oats on site, sold it when he wanted to. Flax & soybeans hauled to elevator, they cut 2 checks, one for him, one for us.
Pasture, hayground & building site- cash rent, don't remember the per acre amount.

northvale · Aug 2, 2011

best to rent the ground for an agreed to amount. The farmer will be much happier.

John A. · Aug 2, 2011

Tim, The answers will vary from state to state to state, geographic areas within a state. as the others below have mentioned.
In the 80s I farmed a 320 acre, 1/2 section in the OK Panhandle, crops are a hit and miss deal especially (Dryland) I put in the crop (winter wheat) plow,plant,fertilize, combine , I got any/all winter grazing and 2/3 of the crop.The owners got 1/3 of the crop, but They paid for ALL Bindweed spraying, Usually 2 times / yr !!!! That is what evened it out for me!
Ask around the Farmers / Rancher your area, at the local Elevator, Coop, etc.
Hope this helps!
Later,
John A.

thurlow · Aug 2, 2011

Traditionally, around 'here', landlord received 1/4 of gross for everything except corn, for which he received 1/3.

El Toro · Aug 2, 2011

My maternal grandfather was a sharecropper. This was back in the early 1900's and it was 50/50. This was in sw VA. Hal
PS: He wasn't farming all the time he had 13 kids and my late mom was the second oldest.

MSD · Aug 2, 2011

I go 1/3- 2/3's with my brother. Dad always did it that way when
he rented. Only problem is it always seemed to me that I averaged
just around the low end of cash rent for my share even when crops
did real well and prices were up. No way to tell what the actual yields
are so I have to take his word for it.

Ken Macfarlane · Aug 2, 2011

50-50 here would be the same as the farmer handing the landowner maybe 50$ an acre and not planting anything.

thurlow · Aug 2, 2011

In the South, being a 'sharecropper' wasn't the same as paying a share of the crop as rent. Sharecroppers owned no equipment; their half of cash expenses, if any, was withheld from their share after harvest. Their input was labor........both of my grandfathers were sharecroppers, though one got enough 'ahead' by working at a powder plant during the war to buy a farm and move into the middle class.

kyhayman · Aug 2, 2011

If the farmer is putting all the money in, around here it would be a third to half to the landowner. Depends on the crop and actual location. I'd sure want to do cash rent on either side of that equation. From a farmers perspective, if hes fronting all the money then he needs to know what his risk is. If I was the landowner, I'd want to know what I was getting.

I rent both out and in, depending on whats best for me financially. Bottom line is as a landowner I want 100-150 an acre clear for hay and crop ground and a third of the value of the calves clear for pasture. If Im taking risk on yields I want more. If Im renting in I want to make my usual and customary rate for my equipment and time, cover all my costs, make 10 pct return on investment, and 22 pct profit. Any less and I'll stay at home. By being mobile in multiple counties I can go with the best deal. Some areas here there are more farmers than available land and some there is more land than farmers.

Bobl1958 · Aug 2, 2011

My Brother and I share 1/3 and 2/3 here is Kansas. Some do a 2/5 and 3/5, but it's kinda uncommon. With prices going up though, it's getting interesting. Bob

Share Cropping

Tim in Montana

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Anonymous-0

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tjdub

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willie in mn

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northvale

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John A.

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thurlow

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El Toro

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MSD

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Ken Macfarlane

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thurlow

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kyhayman

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Bobl1958

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