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Alfalfa Lease

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eatbeef

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I had 123 acres of alfalfa that is on its 6th year and I didnt get my lease renewed for this year. The landlord would never give me a longterm lease and we negogiated the rent yearly and signed a new lease.(Hind sight is 20/20 and i know i shouldn't of put alfalfa in without a longterm lease, but i was young and dumb, 21, and had worked for the guy until he retired, then i leased his ground) The landlord said he wanted it killed due to holes and the ground getting rough. So i said ok and walked away becasue he said he had already rented it to another guy that got the rest of his ground.

I talked to the new tenant, and come to find out he is going to leave it alfalfa. He is planning on haying it. I said I am entitled to the value of the alfalfa still, he says I am not entitled to any reimbursement because my contract ended on February 28th. I told him i would talk to the landowner. Before I could talk to the landowner the current tenant called me back and said he had called his attorney and the landlord and that if i wanted any reimbursement that I would have to pursue it through legal proceedings and to have my attorney contact his attorney.

The magic questions is what to do???? I contacted an attorney at the Kansas Livestock Association and they say that I have a case due to state lease laws pertaining to alfalfa even though my lease ended February 28, but that it will be up to a judge to interpret state statutes along with my lease if we go to court.

I still have hay stacked on the side of the field that due to the weather this winter I was unable to get it removed before my contracted ended. He said that he is going to have his attorney pursue that because I havent gotten it removed. I am currently working on hauling the hay home off the edge of the field.

Any advice???
 
No idea on the alfalfa statute is Kansas but it sounds reasonable (and that's what judges are supposed to be right?) that you should dang sure have ownership of that stacked alfalfa. Given the season of the year that your lease was terminated it definately seems reasonable that you should have a shot at getting your stacked hay out of there. Sounds like this new tenant is a piece of work. Rather than being excited about getting a new piece of land leased he is mostly worried about how to stick it to you. Immediately running to the landlord and attorney is a punk move. What a jack#@$.

Best of luck to you. Maybe you had better lawyer up to get some advice on this one. :mad:
 
In this state, even a verbal lease must be terminated prior to August 31 at midnight. No termination timely and the tennant keeps the lease at the same terms for another year. Sometimes not followed in pasture situations, but to the letter on crop (including hay ground).
 
I'd darn sure get my stacked hay even if I had to tear up his field in the mud. The rest of it I think I'd walk away from. Yes, you hate to lose your investment in the alfalfa but it would be miserable working with the landlord and new tenant and they only want to play dirty. By the time you get finished paying the lawyers you probably wouldn't have much left anyway. Very disappointing that people can be so mean especially the landlord.
 
KS lease laws state that a non written agricultural contract runs from march 1- Feb 28. The owner must notify the tenant 30 days prior to march 1 if he wishes to change or terminate the contract. Written contracts can be made differently but that is the standard that is used. I would continue to talk to the KLA and see what they can do to help and what they recommend.

Did you plant the Alfalfa? If so how old is the stand. In our part of the state 6 year old Alfalfa would probably need to be torn up any ways and started over. If that is the case it may be better to take your stacked hay and walk away and let them spend the money to reestablish the stand
 
Get your hay out of there and don't give a thought to tearing or tracking the field up. You just got 5 credit hours in "Dealing With A$$holes 101".

Doesn't sound like the other 2 parties understand what "reasonable" means.
 
I've got a pickup sprayer with that and a good nurse tank set up I could spray it all with round-up in a few hours that would be my just reward.
 
We had a similar situation several years ago, but it was new grass (seeded the year before) on a place we had rented for many years.
Different rules here, but FWIW I would get my stacked hay out of there and walk away. If the new tenant is that way, perhaps the landlord will be begging you back in a year or two. Sometimes turning the other cheek creates its' own just reward.
Just my 2 cents.
 
Denny said:
I've got a pickup sprayer with that and a good nurse tank set up I could spray it all with round-up in a few hours that would be my just reward.
Click to expand...

If you want to kill alfalfa, I have never seen straight Roundup work. Now if you are trying to keep it alive, and forgot to rinse your tank out, it will die instantly. Been there done that.
 
This exact thing happened to a guy just up the road from me. He does custom haying all over and he rented this ground from this guy and put it all to hay. He hayed it for 4 years he got it taken away. Kind of the same thing as you. He ended up taking him to court and won and hayed it the next year. But then the guy sold the ground so he still got out of it. But its a hell of alot of money to get a hay stand going.

That hay that stacked on the side of the field is yours and they have no right to it. Now if you only singed a yearly lease, I dont see much that you can do. In our area after 6 years most hay ground is being tore out and rotated with something else anyways.
Good Luck!!
 
I made two phone calls to a couple of darn good friends/neighbors at day break yesterday and at 930 last night the hay was home and tractor back in shed. Amazing what can be accomplished with three trucks in a day.

Now I am just waiting to hear back from KLA on there advise and if things are gonna get hairy I will walk away. I dont have the time, money, nor do I need the extra stress. I really hate just getting ran over and especially just letting that much hay ground go in a time of drought. Ahh, the joys of being a broke rancher that leases the 90% of his land!
 
my first thought is tear the hell out of the field to get your hay out, but that will come back to bite you in the long run.....

Get your hay as soon as you can, as polite as you can. continue to use KLA... get a lawyer, and get going.....30 days till first cutting, try to get the ground. never roll over and play dead ! it is yours, fight for it.....

is the guy taking over using the hay or selling it?? if selling, let me know his number, maybe I can buy it and get you a kick back on it if he screws you out of it.
 

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