Taking land out of crop rotation

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Anyone ever do this? Just kicking it around but not sure how seriously. I have 60 acres of crop land in one area. It’s has a few drainage areas that deer do bed in but for the most part it’s just a big open area. It’s pretty, the wife likes looking over it from the porch but from a wildlife and useable standpoint I feel like I could get more out of it. It’s beans now which means corn next year. Corn does nothing for me or the herd for months out of the year. And honestly beans don’t either from mid November until July. I’m indifferent to the rental income, it’s not the substantial. I like some of the tax breaks. It screw up my access to some of my place also. Admittedly I’m paranoid about my land and I hate that you can see a little bit from the road (I’m working on that). I just fear removing free food and value from my place, and honestly I like my farmer and I hate taking money out of his pocket but I bought this farm to hunt and grow and hold mature deer. Not sure this area is being used to it’s best and highest use.
Just curious anyones experience on this.

 

[BenAllgood]

I don't have nearly that amount of crop acreage, but what I did on 6.5 acres was traded a farmer. He planted regular corn on 6 acres and sweet corn on .5 acre. The .5 acre, he planted in turnips after he got the sweet corn off. On the rest of the corn, he's leaving some standing for me, and putting a cover crop of wheat down on it. He also disked firebreaks around my pollinator planting. I don't know who is getting the better end of the deal, but I'm happy. I'll have a big plot with wheat and some standing corn that I didn't have to pay for.

What I'm saying, is there may be some creative ways to deal with the situation like buying back and leaving some standing. Standing corn or beans can be a magnet. Work out a mutually beneficial relationship. EQIP has some short term programs like pollinator plantings that can produce food and cover while not destroying future ag value if you decide to revert it back.

 

[Native Hunter]

I will give you an idea that I have tossed around for a small farm that my dad owns but is turning over to me to manage. I've considered leasing it out for cropping but specifying in the deal that it is put in corn 2/3 of the time and beans 1/3 of the time. In the corn years the farmer has to leave the corn standing through the end of firearms season (or maybe the end of late muzzleloader). I will be allowed to mow 10 foot shooting lanes through it with my bushhog - but, of course, that amount of corn will be deducted from my share of the crop. Food and cover with a shooting lane down the middle - what could be a better deal..........

There would be some extra corn loss from delaying the harvest a little longer, but I don't feel it would be significant. I've actually seen corn picked that late before. Keep in mind that I haven't done this, but it is something that I might talk to a farmer about someday. Hey, he might even be glad to not have to do so much work all at once.

 

[Kooch]

I’m stressing about just taking 7 acres out of production and putting in a food plot surrounded by switchgrass here in South Dakota. The money isn’t the problem. It’s just always been the way it is and I’m new.

I need to talk to the farmer about it . Maybe he’d like to kill a deer now and then too.


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[omicron1792]

Why not have farmer do cover crop of rye and clover with some brassicas after harvest?

 

[Kooch]

Why not have farmer do cover crop of rye and clover with some brassicas after harvest?

Cover. It’s a wide open. Plus, I kind of want something to do myself. I like the process of growing stuff for wildlife myself. Gotta use the tractor for something other than clearing snow now don’t I?


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[Howboutthemdawgs]

Why not have farmer do cover crop of rye and clover with some brassicas after harvest?

Too late after beans. He does do wheat after corn. I want him to do back to beans which I think is doable. @FarmerDan is that correct? Or I have a back section which is about 9 acres I thought about converting to alfalfa, letting him bail it if he wanted and then rotating the remaining 51 like always.

 

[H20fwler]

I took both of our farms out of crop production and converted to habitat.
Here the county farm bureau does not like farm ground being taken out of production at all.

The county auditor can really be a pain with tax assessment over the “use” of it. My one farm tripled in taxes, they call it recreational ground now.

The other we signed most of it into WRP taxes stayed same as crop ground but I still have to fill out a bunch of paperwork every year explaining it.

I myself do not like paying bloated taxes but it wasn’t a deal breaker or anything for me, I’m not going to be bullied by the county.

 

[Mortenson]

Maybe only partially relevant, but when we bought a piece of the neighbor's adjoining farm a few years ago, what we were able to buy was only woods, none of the tillable. County then reassessed it as residential and we now pay over $200/ac taxes on it. From my understanding, if we could've acquired just one acre of the tillable portion and continued to farm it, then it would still be a "farm".

Not sure how some of you guys structure your taxes, but I assume you can take some deductions if you're still actively involved in the farming. Everyone's accountant is different.

And not sure how to quantify this, but as far as deer not benefiting from #2 yellow corn, my deer here start browsing it from the time it emerges. Then they move into it and live in it. Then they start eating the silks, followed by the grain. Get creative with your combine settings or deck plates and lose a little efficiency with harvest, if you're thinking like what I've heard before about modern combines doing too good of a job. I imagine they'd feed out in those stalks partway through winter like they did in the old days. And leave a few acres standing for more cover and winter food. By my math that's about 10 months of use.

 

[Jerry]

I have taken pretty much every tillable acre I have ever owned out of production at my own expense - no programs over the years. I own land to hunt and have zero interest in farming, having to care about a farmer, or having the government bribe and direct my decisions. I took 20 acres out last year in fact. But I have only own 127 acres in my lifetime with 36 acres tillable combined. And none of the tillable was ever really good dirt. I insist on doing things my way and always want habitat over farm rent payments. It's not the best business decision sometimes bit like you said - I own it to hunt on. My investments go in the stock market - which is earning me about the same right now....

 

[Jerry]

Oh and I always end up having to put the properties in forest management plans to avoid the ridiculous recreational taxes once the farm ground goes away. Those plans can be expensive and kind of a pain but worth the tax break when you remove the ag production.

 

[b116757]

How many total acres do you have and what’s satellite photo of the property and surrounding properties would be helpful to make recommendations.

 

[Mortenson]

Oh and I always end up having to put the properties in forest management plans to avoid the ridiculous recreational taxes once the farm ground goes away. Those plans can be expensive and kind of a pain but worth the tax break when you remove the ag production.

That's what I won't do on the new piece we got. I bought it for a sanctuary. I don't want inspections, or knowing the glorious land of Lincoln I live in, they'll allow it to be sanctuary for felons and murderers released under the new Safe-T act. Seriously, trespassers can no longer be removed by the law here. Less gov't control over the land the better.

Dawgs, I think you were asking about beans after beans, if so then yes that's ok. Also I think quite a few people have success getting covers into beans about the time they start yellowing. On a big 60 acre field just have them flown on. Go big! Make a stipulation like N.H. was discussing... do an early bean and then your covers will get some more time. In KY, can they harvest early beans in Sept, giving brassicas enough time to slip under the head and then grow for a couple months?

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

That's what I won't do on the new piece we got. I bought it for a sanctuary. I don't want inspections, or knowing the glorious land of Lincoln I live in, they'll allow it to be sanctuary for felons and murderers released under the new Safe-T act. Seriously, trespassers can no longer be removed by the law here. Less gov't control over the land the better.

Dawgs, I think you were asking about beans after beans, if so then yes that's ok. Also I think quite a few people have success getting covers into beans about the time they start yellowing. On a big 60 acre field just have them flown on. Go big! Make a stipulation like N.H. was discussing... do an early bean and then your covers will get some more time. In KY, can they harvest early beans in Sept, giving brassicas enough time to slip under the head and then grow for a couple months?

Man September would be early. I saw plenty mature today but harvesting this month may be a long shot. My particular crop this year wasn’t even planted until July 4th week so they haven’t even started to turn. Flown in cover crop…now your talking! I don’t know know if you saw my other post but I want to do an aerial herbicide application on my woods to kill Japan grass. I like going big!

Your thoughts on corn are interesting to me. I just assumed them to be about worthless after the first couple weeks until they are harvested and even then with the efficiencies, pretty worthless then. Granted i know they can provide cover during that time, and you get a double crop with wheat which is nice.

My taxes on my previous piece weren’t bad and there was no ag on it. Not sure what it’s going to be like on this piece.

I may just get creative with the farmer on combos and rotations and leaving areas unharvested and see if the juice is worth the squeeze to him. I know my ground is way more valuable to him than what he’s giving me.

 

[Jerry]

Oh I'm in Illinois too. One 40 acre tract we bought with no buildings on it at the time cost me $2200 in property taxes back in 2010 before I got it in a forest management plan. It then went down to $125 after the plan. Illinois is a complete joke with stuff like that. My forest management plans are just what I would do anyway - thinning and removal of unwanted and invasive species. I've done 4 plans now with 3 different foresters and they have never forced me to do something I didn't want to do.

 

[Mortenson]

Yeah I wasn't talking from experience but just trying to think outside the box. I know you southern guys get some pretty long growing seasons. An earlier than normal bean for that area may just be a terrible idea and yield very poorly, I have no clue. You seem like you're usually up for trying about anything though, lol. I just spread some more radishes a couple days ago. Up here I know they won't make a big radish, but I'd still expect maybe upwards of 8" of top growth before they finally stall out. A big field of that might be pretty attractive. Hire a guy with a 40 year old, worn out combine to pick your corn, and he'll leave some grain on the ground. Or a young BTO twitter farmer could accomplish the same by driving too fast and blowing a bunch of corn out the back of the machine.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

How many total acres do you have and what’s satellite photo of the property and surrounding properties would be helpful to make recommendations.

A little over 300 acres with 60 tillable. 3 of my 4 neighbors have ag and the 4the runs cows. The 3 mile radius is a mix of woods, ag and cattle ground. That’s part of my apprehension, I hate to lose out on that attraction of crop ground. I’m holding a lot of deer which is a blessing and curse. But I’m also losing some useable ground to crop land I’d like to put my stamp on.

 

[b116757]

Personally I’d leave the ag ground alone and focus my efforts on the rest. I switched 150 acres to ag production this year and have quite possibly more deer than I did before. I had 12 acres that where centrally located classified as HEL and there where hoops to jump threw to farm it so I planted that 12 acres in trees mostly a verity of different oaks 50 persimmons 30 chestnuts and 60-70 fruit. Lot of money time and effort involved. Had I been able to row crop that 12 acres with the other 150 I probably would have. I view ag fields as an asset in my deer management toolbox that even pays its own way particularly if you have plenty of other ground to practice different management techniques on and it sounds like with only 60 in ag leaving 240 for other management you do. 60 acres ag rent should run $75 an acre on the low end maybe a good deal higher depending on where it is and how good of ground it is but that 60 can most likely pay the taxes on the entire property so your net loss to taxes per year is zero and your hunting is likely better with it in ag.

 

[buckdeer1]

There are several programs to use like the buffer for 120ft of NWSG around the field.When I did mine it was called CP33.You could always keep making money off the crops but use something like the extreme blower attachment to over seed so you have a cover crop or leave part but use the money to improve the rest or buy more.I did take another 50 feet out on one side and planted 2 rows of oaks.

 

[FarmerDan]

I guess anything is possible. If you own good cropland and are looking to lease it to a commercial producer there are a number of "cost" factors to consider unless money is no object, either to you and/or your lessee. Same could be said about taking good cropland out of production.
1. There's the issue of land use taxation.
2. Impact of crops left standing for crop insurance and/or USDA farm programs yields. For example, harvest yields in the form of weigh tickets.
3. Cash crop prices. Soybeans right now are $15/bu and corn is something over $7 in my part of the world. Could be lower - or higher - later. That "left standing" crop might "cost" as much as $1,000 / acre or more.
4. All that aside if you find a farmer willing to bow to your wishes I would think you very lucky.