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Lease arrangementsBy David G. Hallauer Meadowlark District Extension agent, crops, soils, horticulture Kansas There has been quite a bit of discussion lately in regards to lease arrangements. Since there's a lot that goes into a successful one, I won't attempt to hit on every detail for you to ponder, but there are some good resources available that at least warrant consideration. Probably the greatest resource is communication. No successful arrangement remains as such without both parties agreeing to talk openly, and maybe even disagree. The bottom line is that discussion needs to occur. Whether you like the arrangement you have or not, it won't generally last long without communication. The second greatest resource is information. I would qualify that further to mean 'sound' information. Word of mouth or what was overheard at lunch is useful, but maybe a little less than sound. If you will contact your district Extension office, the staff there can put you in touch with useful information to aid you in an assessment of your lease arrangement. Lease law, leasing contracts, and lease rate information is all available. Information is available from the Kansas Ag Statistics Service (also available in your district office) in regards to land values and rental rates, whether on a per acre basis or, in the case of livestock, on an animal unit basis. The Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics has some online tools available to assist you as well at their website www.agmanager.info. Any one of these information sources, and a combination thereof, can be very valuable to assessing your situation. One final thought--enter lease arrangement evaluation with an open mind. Dollars and cents do play a role in any agreement, and they should. Consider, as well, the viewpoint of your tenant/landlord. Should high commodity prices automatically translate to higher rental rates? Not necessarily, but they are a factor. Even harder to evaluate is the prior relationship with a tenant. Will another tenant treat you as well, even if they are offering more money? It's not fun, but it's not difficult to determine who has what costs and come to an equitable dollar figure. It's a lot harder to place a value on a caretaker of your property over the long term. If you want a first hand look at some of the leasing tools mentioned, consider attending the Healthy Soybeans = Healthy Yields program on February 18 in Nortonville. The afternoon portion of that program will be a very informal discussion of lease arrangements and some details important for both tenants and landlords to consider as they evaluate a lease arrangement. If you can't make it on the 18th, contact your district office to take a look at those resources. Time for peach leaf curl control Now is the time for control of peach leaf curl--and, fortunately, it's easy! If you've ever seen emerging peach leaves that are puckered, swollen, distorted and reddish-green color, you've seen peach leaf curl. Uncontrolled, it can weaken trees, due to untimely leaf drop in the spring. But while controllable, it needs to be done in a timely fashion (bud swell is too late!) Peach leaf curl can be controlled by a single fungicide application either in the fall after leaf drop or in the spring before bud swell. (Do not spray when temperatures will fall below freezing before the spray dries.) There are several fungicides labeled for this disease, including Bordeaux, liquid lime sulfur and chlorothalonil (Ortho Garden Disease Control, Gordon's Multipurpose Fungicide and Daconil). Thoroughly cover the entire tree during application. Note that it is much easier to achieve good spray coverage if the tree is pruned before spraying. 3/3/08 Date: 2/28/08
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