FAQ
I. General Questions:
1. Why US Farm Lease?
2. What is the history of US Farm Lease?
3. What's wrong with the old system?
4. There are surveys on cash rents available. Aren't they good enough guides?
5. What kind of leases are possible on US Farm Lease?
6. I'm not good with computers, but can I use US Farm Lease anyway?
7. What are your fees?
8. I notice the tenants pay most of the US Farm Lease fee. Why is that?
9. Can I register as an operator AND a landowner?
10. How do I unsubscribe from your email list? How can I resubscribe?
11. How safe is my information?
12. Why do the education pages look different when I log in or out?
13. What is a Preferred Professional?
14. How do I sign up to be listed as a Preferred Professional on your website?
15. Do you offer farm management services?
16. I haven't received any email confirmations. What happened?
17. The images and text don't always line up on my screen. What's wrong?
18. How are bids and proposals handled at the end of the listing period?
19. Why can't I upload my documents to your site?
II. Landowner-Specific Questions:
1. Why should I register as a landowner?
2. What happens if an operator has a questions about the lease I'm offering?
3. How do I choose an operator?
4. Can realtors and other professionals list with US Farm Lease?
III. Operator-Specific Questions:
1. Why should I register as an operator?
2. What can I access without registering?
3. Are you offering any other leases than what are listed online?
4. Who sees the information I put in my profile?
5. How do I upload my references to my profile?
6. Why didn't I win a lease?
7. Can I cancel a bid or proposal after I've submitted it?
8. Can someone else place a bid or proposal for me?
9. How will I know when new lease offerings are added?
IV. Terminology:
Bid
Bid Amount
Bid Notes
Cash Rent
Cover Letter
Cropshare
Cropshare / Other Lease Offering
Dashboard (Landowner's or Operator's)
Landowner
Nickname / Screen Name
Operator
Operator's Profile
Proposal
Public Lease Offering
Reserve
Sealed Bid Lease Offering
I. General Questions:
1. Why US Farm Lease?
We are the first and only comprehensive farm leasing site. Our goals are to preserve the land through proper managment and look out for the owners' interests by finding tenants or working with currents tenants to achieve the owners' goals.
2. What is the history of US Farm Lease?
US Farm Lease grew out of Mark Gannon's farm management experience in Ames, Iowa, where he worked in private farm management and as well as the Land Manager at Iowa State University. He previously used a similar system without the internet application, and it worked well. The system works more efficiently as an online process.
3. What's wrong with the old system?
In Iowa, for instance, approximately 57% of the farms are leased and 95% of those farms are leased directly by the owners without professional farm management. The old way of leasing to a neighbor, a relative, or the operator offering a strong cash rent are not in the best interests of the landowner if he/she does not incorporate other protections into the lease document.
Our expereince in 2009 was that our clients gained an average of 38% from their previous cash rents. It was also obvious that these rates had no real correlation between soil ratings, farm size, or neighborhood. The bottom line is that you simply don't know what the market is without openly exposing the land to the market.
4. There are surveys on cash rents available. Aren't they good enough guides?
In our experience, the surveys are a guide but cannot accurately predict an individual farm's value. All farms are different, and you never know how neighbors or operators will react to a lease offering. In 2009, one of the highest rented farms was actually one with a lower soil rating. No survey would have predicted that. If you have a better than average farm that is well cared for, you especially should be rewarded for your efforts.
5. What kind of leases are possible on US Farm Lease?
We can handle all lease types from crop share to flexible and straight cash rent. The owner chooses what they would prefer, and they can set up the tenant search process based upon their needs and interests.
6. I'm not good with computers, but can I use US Farm Lease anyway?
Our staff can assist you. If you are a landowner, we -- or one of our Preferred Professionals -- can work with you to add your property to the website. For operators without computers or who are not comfortable with the internet, we have hard copies of the leasing opportunities available and can accept paper versions of their profile and bid information. We can discusss the possibilities with you on the phone. Please call 877-232-4002.
7. What are your fees?
New landowners pay a one-time membership fee of $50. With this, they can upload unlimited property information, access owner-specific documents, and create their first lease offering for free. Each additional lease they offer has a $50 listing fee and an optional $399 advertising fee.
There is no fee for registering as an operator or applying for a lease. However, the operator who is selected for each lease will be charged 3% of the first year's rent and 2% of each subsequent year's rent for cash rent leases. For other lease types, the fees are $6.00/leased acre for the first year and $4.00/leased acre for each subsequent year.
As a winning operator, if you fulfill all of your lease terms and submit any required mid-season or harvest reports through US Farm Lease, you will be eligible for a refund of 1% of the annual cash rent or $2.00/leased acre for other lease types.
8. I notice the tenants pay most of the US Farm Lease fee. Why is that?
We want to encourage landowners to use the site so they can see the benefits. Limiting their fees is part of that philosophy. The operators should build US Farm Lease's fee into any lease offer they submit, just as they would with any seed, fertilitzer, machinery, or other operation costs. It is part of the payment for the right to farm the land.
A tenant fee also does not affect farm managers and Preferred Professionals who use US Farm Lease. Their fees can be covered in separate agreements with landowners.
9. Can I register as an operator AND a landowner?
Yes. In fact, if you want to list property and bid on property, you MUST register as an operator and as a landowner. You may use the same login information, but your accounts will be completely separate. Logging off will log you off of both accounts.
10. How do I unsubscribe from your email list? How can I resubscribe?
Every email has instructions about how to unsubscribe. Simply follow the “unsubscribe” link and confirm your preferences. Please contact us if you would like to re-subscribe.
11. How safe is my information?
All personal information is strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent. Please refer to our
Privacy Policy for specifics.
You can protect yourself online by choosing a password with a random combination of letters and numbers and by changing it regularly.
12. Why do the education pages look different when I log in or out?
Some documents and categories within the education section are restricted to registered landowners or operators – or both. These will only show up when you are logged in.
13. What is a Preferred Professional?
Preferred Professionals are normally realtors or farm managers who are willing to help landowners beyond the scope of what the US Farm Lease staff can do. They have been approved by US Farm Lease to assist our clients.
14. How do I sign up to be listed as a Preferred Professional on your website?
Please contact us if you would like to advertise with US Farm Lease – or if you are interested in helping our customers navigate the website. Currently there is no system in place for you to register and submit your information online, but we would love to talk with you by phone (877-232-4002) or email.
15. Do you offer farm management services?
US Farm Lease does not offer farm management services. We strictly facilitate the connection between owners and operators and promote effective, sustainable management practices. If you are interested in farm management, we encourage you to contact one of our preferred professionals; their services are separate from US Farm Lease but can be used in conjunction with the ones that we offer.
16. I haven't received any email confirmations. What happened?
You will not receive many email confirmations from us. However, you should receive outbid notices, operator selection emails, and payment confirmations. If you don't, you likely entered an incorrect email address during registration. You can edit this information from your dashboard. Otherwise, please email us with your full name and email address so that we can make the correction. You can also call us at our toll-free number (877-232-4002).
17. The images and text don't always line up on my screen. What's wrong?
Our website works best with Internet Explorer, Netscape, and Firefox. If you are using Safari, consider switching to a different browser. The website will still work with Safari, but you may experience fewer frustrations with a different application.
If you have tried a different browser but the problem doesn’t go away, please contact us. We try to correct any errors you may experience with the site, but we need help catching them!
18. How are bids and proposals handled at the end of the listing period?
That depends on the owner. We recommend that owners take three or four days after collecting their bids and proposals to consider each operator, contact their references, and – if possible – talk with them over the phone or in person.
When the owner selects a tenant, the chosen operator will receive a confirmation email. The other operators who applied will also receive an email informing them that someone else was selected. The owner and tenant are then responsible for coordinating signing the lease.
While there is no fee for registering as an operator or applying for a lease, the chosen operator will be invoiced for 3% of the annual cash rent or $5 per acre where there is a cropshare or other arrangement.
19. Why can't I upload my documents to your site?
As a general rule, all documents that you try to upload need to be in Word or PDF format. If you are trying to upload a picture (for example, to your operator profile or as a part of your lease offering), please use JPG format. Large files may take a while to upload, so we recommend that you use simpler, lower resolutions files when possible.
If you have any other trouble uploading your files, please let us know.
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II. Landowner-Specific Questions:
1. Why should I register as a landowner?
The only way to add your lease offering to our website is to register as a landowner. Once you become a member, you can:
- Store property information online indefinitely
- Access sections of our education pages that are restricted to landowners
- Sign up to receive our newsletter and email announcements
- Post your first lease offering at no charge
If you have any questions or concerns about becoming a member or using our website, please contact us. We can help you navigate the site or put you in touch with one of our preferred professionals who can help you with all aspects of leasing your property.
2. What happens if an operator has a questions about the lease I'm offering?
We do not have an online question-answer feature in place – yet. However, within the details of your lease offering you can specify where operators should direct their questions. If you would like to be contacted directly, simply provide your – or your representative’s -- email address or phone number with the property details.
Typically operators contact us with their questions. We answer as many as we can from the information you have provided, but if there are any that we cannot answer, we will contact you.
3. How do I choose an operator?
We recommend that you take three or four days after the end of the collection period to consider each operator, contact their references, and – if possible – talk with them over the phone or in person. Who you choose is completely up to you. By opening up the bidding to every interested operator, we hope to help you find a tenant who shares your goals and suits you personally.
4. Can realtors and other professionals list with US Farm Lease?
Absolutely. As long you have the legal authority to act on the owner’s behalf, you are welcome to use our services. If you represent many owners and are interested in receiving referral fees, consider becoming one of our preferred professionals.
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III. Operator-Specific Questions:
1. Why should I register as an operator?
Only registered operators can apply for the leases we have listed on our website. Even if there aren’t any current opportunities that interest you, you can still set up your profile and see the bids for public lease offerings.
When you register, you also have to opportunity to sign up for our email list to receive our newsletter and new listing announcements. Plus, once we have your contact information, we can send you a direct letter if we ever advertise a new lease opportunity in your area.
2. What can I access without registering?
Every single lease opportunity we post is visible to whoever visits the site – registered or unregistered. All of the property details, maps, and lease information are available.
However, bid information is restricted. You can only apply for a property when you are logged in, and you can only see the highest bid in public lease offerings when you are logged in. Additionally, we may occasionally restrict some of our education documents to registered operators.
3. Are you offering any other leases than what are listed online?
Every lease offering that has been finalized and approved is listed online and is visible to anyone who visits the site. Other opportunities may be in the works or may have been submitted by the owner but not yet approved by our team.
4. Who sees the information I put in my profile?
Your profile – both the general contact information and supplemental documents – are only available to you, the owner of any property you have applied for, and us.
When you submit a bid/proposal, your information will be available to that owner indefinitely. If you update your contact information or your references, for example, that owner will still be able to visit your most up-to-date profile even a year or two later.
5. How do I upload my references to my profile?
You can upload a references document to your profile when you register as an operator or from the My Profile tab of your dashboard. Simple click the Browse button and choose the file (either a Word or PDF file) you want to upload.
Please make sure that you have permission to use the information you include with your references. We recommend that you list a contact name and number for your banker or lender along with a sample of landlords -- at least.
If you would prefer not to draft your own, we have created a form that you can use as your references document.
Word and
PDF versions of the form are available to download. Once you fill out your information, simply save your changes and upload it to your profile. If you would prefer, you can print out the form and mail it to us; we'll scan it and upload a digital copy for you.
6. Why didn't I win a lease?
On average, landowners receive more than eight bids/proposals for each lease, but they can only choose one tenant. Once you have your profile in place, presenting your operation to different owners should be fairly straightforward, and we hope that you will continue to submit bids/proposals until you find the right match.
If you had the highest bid in a public offering but did not win, keep in mind that the owner may have taken more than your bid into account. Any time that you place a bid or proposal, take advantage of your cover letter and profile to present your operation as thoroughly and professionally as possible.
7. Can I cancel a bid or proposal after I've submitted it?
No. When you place your bid/proposal, you agree to participate according to our terms and conditions. Accordingly, placing a bid/proposal is a legally binding obligation. If you do not agree with any of our terms and conditions or any of the lease terms that an owner is proposing, DO NOT BID.
8. Can someone else place a bid or proposal for me?
In general, no. Someone’s legal representative (for example, a minor’s legal guardian) may submit a bid/proposal on his/her behalf. Of course, in this case, placing a bid/proposal would still be a legally binding obligation.
9. How will I know when new lease offerings are added?
The best way to learn about new lease opportunities is by registering online and joining our email list. We will not send emails about each new lease offering, but we may announce selected opportunities as a part of our newsletter.
Also, if you have registered and a local owner asks us to advertise a lease in your area, you will receive an announcement in the mail.
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IV. Terminology:
Bid:
The cash rent per acre that an operator offers to a landowner is a part of his/her bid. Along with the bid amount, the operator should also include bid notes and a cover letter to introduce him/herself and – if necessary – explain the bid.
An operator’s bid amount is the numeric cash rent per acre that he wants to offer to a landowner in order to rent a specific piece of property. Example, $140/acre.
With any bid or proposal, an operator has the opportunity to include a brief note about his/her offer. This space can be used to clarify the bid amount or briefly introduce him/herself, for example.
This is the price per acre that an operator and landowner agree to use to calculate an annual lease payment. For an article from ISU's University Extension on how to compute cash rent, click here.
With an bid or proposal, an operator has the opportunity to upload a cover letter (in Word or PDF format) to introduce him/herself, explain his/her offer, and direct the owner to his/her profile. Including a cover letter gives an operator another chance to show the owner that he/she would be a good tenant, and we encourage everyone who applies for a lease – especially a cropshare or custom arrangement – to submit one.
Cropshare:
Under this type of arrangement, the operator and landowner would split all expenses and the revenue from selling the crop. (This assumes that the operator will be doing all of the work and not hiring any other help.)
Cropshare / Other Lease Offering:
With US Farm Lease, a crop share/other lease offering allows Landowners to solicit proposals without asking for a specific per acre bid. This style of listing is best used for cropshare or other leases.
Dashboard (Landowner's or Operator's):
Your dashboard offers a menu of services. Here landowners can see alerts about their leases, edit their personal information, find links to edit their properties, and see the bids and proposals they have received. Similarly, an operator’s dashboard shows alerts about their bids and proposals, lets them edit their personal and profile information, summarizes any bids or proposals they may have placed, and links to their saved properties.
A person or organization who owns his/her/its own land and, for the purposes of our website, is looking for an operator to work the land according to the terms put forth in a lease contract.
Nickname / Screen Name:
If you register as an Operator, we ask you to create a screen name. If you have placed the highest bid in a public auction, this name will show up with your bid. You do not have to choose your name or any information that someone can use to identify you. Examples are: LuckyBidder, ranchman, Allis123.
For the purposes of this website, an Operator is a person or organization who places lease bids and proposals for Landowners to consider.
Operator's Profile:
Operators can upload information about themselves and their operations to create online profiles. These are like a resumes. Anytime an operator submits a bid, the landowner will be able to see the information that s/he has provided.
Operators submit proposals for any property that is being offered with as a cropshare or other lease arrangement. As a part of the proposal, they submit bid notes and a cover letter to introduce themselves and explain what they are offering. Unlike a regular bid, there is no bid amount associated with a proposal.
With this type of lease offering, registered operators can see the highest bid and the screen name of the operator who submitted it. Any new bid that is submitted must be higher than the current high bid. (This option is only applicable for cash rent lease offerings.)
Reserve:
Owners have the option of adding a reserve to their cash rent lease offerings. Bids can be submitted below this amount, but the owner does not have to choose a tenant if all of the bids are below his reserve.
Sealed Bid Lease Offering:
This type of listing will not show the highest bid to registered operators -- or even to the highest bidder. Operators submit proposals, and the landowner reviews them before choosing one.
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