Leasing the farm

Jimmygoesmoo

Hi everyone, I lurk around here a bit but haven’t posted before. Trying to get my head around our current situation and could use some advice or thoughts from people here.

My father died suddenly a few months ago. Myself and the 3 sisters were never into the farming, although we all worked on the farm as kids, teenagers and when back from college or jobs on the weekends etc. So we have no clue about farming any more - I had to google how to start the tractors after he died to move them off the yard, it’s been that long! We have some great neighbours here that really pulled together - basically kept the place running in the weeks after it happened.

We need to do something long term now but don’t have the first clue. We don’t want to sell it, as it was so important to him and has a lot of memories for us so it’s too soon to go there. So we will have to lease it but I’m not sure if that size place (200 acres) would be easy to lease out? Are dairy operations only interested in big set ups these days or would it be easy to rent someplace that size? Would it be worth someone’s while to take it on? There are a few big operators in the area - the bordering farmers would have 1000+ acres throughout the county and a couple of more farmers 500+. None of them have approached us to express an interest so don’t know if they would be interested or now. What would be the done thing there? Should we approach them and offer it to neighbours or just give it to the local agent and see if they can rent it? What sort of rental would be reasonable as well? It’s a good set up, 200 acres of decent land, huge yards, housing for about 200 animals etc, great road network etc.

Thanks for any advice!

wrangler

Jimmygoesmoo wrote: »

Hi everyone, I lurk around here a bit but haven’t posted before. Trying to get my head around our current situation and could use some advice or thoughts from people here.

My father died suddenly a few months ago. Myself and the 3 sisters were never into the farming, although we all worked on the farm as kids, teenagers and when back from college or jobs on the weekends etc. So we have no clue about farming any more - I had to google how to start the tractors after he died to move them off the yard, it’s been that long! We have some great neighbours here that really pulled together - basically kept the place running in the weeks after it happened.

We need to do something long term now but don’t have the first clue. We don’t want to sell it, as it was so important to him and has a lot of memories for us so it’s too soon to go there. So we will have to lease it but I’m not sure if that size place (200 acres) would be easy to lease out? Are dairy operations only interested in big set ups these days or would it be easy to rent someplace that size? Would it be worth someone’s while to take it on? There are a few big operators in the area - the bordering farmers would have 1000+ acres throughout the county and a couple of more farmers 500+. None of them have approached us to express an interest so don’t know if they would be interested or now. What would be the done thing there? Should we approach them and offer it to neighbours or just give it to the local agent and see if they can rent it? What sort of rental would be reasonable as well? It’s a good set up, 200 acres of decent land, huge yards, housing for about 200 animals etc, great road network etc.

Thanks for any advice!

Advertise it anyway, you'll get plenty of offers if it's as you say

Water John

Oh there'll be plenty interest. Discuss it thoroughly with a good advisor, I know hard to find. Ye do have to agree among yourselves the answers to some questions.
How long do want it tied into rental/leasing for? Are there limitations as to what ye want done on the land? Check all the entitlements, Basic Farm Payment etc.

Mooooo

Ensure probate etc and all that is sorted first. Department of ag have experience of dealing with this stuff as well so would be worth a call.
If none of ye want to take on the operating of the farm ye will have no problem letting the place out.
There are tax reliefs for different time periods and that so be no harm to talk to a good accountant or ag advisor or a trusted person ye may know.
Probate def is important as if there are payment still in your fathers name sue to go to bank accounts in his name they will be frozen until that is all sorted
Condolences on your fathers passing

Jimmygoesmoo

Thanks for the replies. The farm was in my father and mother’s name, and she is the executor, so we are helping her to sort it out. A long lease would suit her I think to guarantee some income for her and I understand it’s tax free up to a limit if over 6 years or 7 years. The place is immaculate in fairness so would need to be someone who would look after it and not tear it asunder or run it down.
All the stock is gone off it now so we could lease it whenever - is there a good time or a bad time to lease land, i.e. is there a cut off time in the year where it would be too late for someone to take on extra land in terms of stocking it, getting ready for silage etc?
Many thanks

Water John

It's an ideal income stream for your mother. Great time to put it up there is in the Spring. One other point esp if none of ye are around regularly is pick the person would keep an eye out for her and wouldn't see her wronged. Might not be the highest offer would be the best tenant.

tismesoitis

Firstly very sorry for your loss.
You need to contact a Teagasc advisor and a auctioneer who will advertise land for lease.
Best of luck

Jimmygoesmoo

Yeah there are a couple of neighbours who are great farmers and we’d be confident they would look after the place - we were hoping they would have asked my mother but they haven’t so will have to try and call into them over Christmas and see if they’re interested. Would happily let them take it at a discount as they’re the sort that would give you something back in better condition that they got it. Plus they’ve been great neighbours for years and look out for the mother.

greysides

Can't help you, but sorry for your loss.

Water John

They mightn't approach your mother about letting out of respect for both her and your father.
On the other hand I wouldn't heave them bidding against one another. Maybe two particular ones take half each.
Do your research and discussion as to a price that is good but reasonable for your area. Then approach directly. If the price is fair and they are fair people, they'll be no haggling.
Since you were reared there, you surely know someone, who wouldn't be interested in taking it but could help you with the guide price for the area.

Dunedin

Water John wrote: »

They mightn't approach your mother about letting out of respect for both her and your father.
On the other hand I wouldn't heave them bidding against one another. Maybe two particular ones take half each.
Do your research and discussion as to a price that is good but reasonable for your area. Then approach directly. If the price is fair and they are fair people, they'll be no haggling.
Since you were reared there, you surely know someone, who wouldn't be interested in taking it but could help you with the guide price for the area.

The above is spot on.

And sorry for your loss - it’s a lot to take in at the minute.

Jimmygoesmoo

That may be it. There are 2 that I will approach and offer them first refusal. The neighbour bordering us first, then the other guy if the neighbour doesn’t want it. I’ve asked a few people about the rent and got a different opinions about 100 an acre apart! Then there’s the entitlements that complicate it even more. I have been in touch with the teagasc advisor so need to have a chat with him about it all to see what’s a fair price.

Belongamick

Condolences on you loss Jimmy.


Similar to previous posts, get professional advice from solicitor, accountant and Teagasc. The accountant side is extremely important. It sounds like a very valuable property and a long term plan may need to be plotted to get the most of any taxation allowances out there.

tismesoitis

tismesoitis wrote: »

Firstly very sorry for your loss.
You need to contact a Teagasc advisor and a auctioneer who will advertise land for lease.
Best of luck

^^^This is the best advise. Don’t rush into anything.

Sorry for your loss.

Dakota Dan

Mooooo wrote: »

Ensure probate etc and all that is sorted first. Department of ag have experience of dealing with this stuff as well so would be worth a call.
If none of ye want to take on the operating of the farm ye will have no problem letting the place out.
There are tax reliefs for different time periods and that so be no harm to talk to a good accountant or ag advisor or a trusted person ye may know.
Probate def is important as if there are payment still in your fathers name sue to go to bank accounts in his name they will be frozen until that is all sorted
Condolences on your fathers passing

Probate? I know all about that, we swapped a piece of land with a neighbour for a site before I got the farm over and my mother never transferred that piece of land to me, it was around 0.05 acre. She said I'll leave it to you in my will, but she made no will and that parcel of land was never transferred. Ten years on I went into my solicitor and he said he would sort it but the cost was €2k. I know of a man that died recently and his farm wasn't transferred for 3 generations imagine the cost of that.

Reggie.

Jimmygoesmoo wrote: »

That may be it. There are 2 that I will approach and offer them first refusal. The neighbour bordering us first, then the other guy if the neighbour doesn’t want it. I’ve asked a few people about the rent and got a different opinions about 100 an acre apart! Then there’s the entitlements that complicate it even more. I have been in touch with the teagasc advisor so need to have a chat with him about it all to see what’s a fair price.

sorry for your loss OP

Where in the country roughly are you based?

Could be people interested here if the neighbour's aren't. Gives you a few options.

Jimmygoesmoo

Reggie. wrote: »

sorry for your loss OP

Where in the country roughly are you based?

Could be people interested here if the neighbour's aren't. Gives you a few options.

Cheers - we’re based in kerry

Dunfyy

seek out good advice from a professional who is well experienced in such matters
well experienced in such matters and who can answer all your questions and deal with all your concerns.

Ideally you should know your tenant or at least enquire from a number of sources about his/her character. You should have a proper lease drawn up that includes any specific requirements that you may wish your tenant to observe and that deals comprehensively with such matters as your Basic Payment Entitlements.

The lease must be stamped with the Revenue Commissioners and Registered with the Property Services Regulatory Authority.
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Finance

Farming finance: Leasing out land may be financially attractive - but beware the pitfalls
3
The prospect of seeing another farmer farming one’s land can be difficult for many landowners
Martin O'Sullivan
December 02 2018 06:00 AM
Making money from under-utilised land makes sense but there are various reasons farmers hold back, asks Martin O'Sullivan.

We have reached that time of year when those fledgling thoughts that started to germinate last spring but became dormant as the year progressed have once again started to flutter.

The average farmer in Ireland is over 60 years old and unfortunately many of those farmers do not have an obvious successor. The prospect of farming unassisted until the day they die may not be quite as appealing as it used to be.

This fact coupled with the available tax incentives makes the proposition very tempting for those who have an open mind towards leasing.

The government has acknowledged the reality of land mobility obstacles by providing various tax incentives for leasing out land.

These incentives not alone apply to income tax exemptions on rents but also provide successors who are not currently in a position to farm with the option of leasing out the farm and thereby securing valuable Capital Acquisitions Tax concessions.

Fear of the Unknown
It is currently the case for many farmers that the potential after-tax rental income from the farm may well exceed what they are currently earning.

This begs the question: why is more land not rented? The answer is quite complex and may be as much about fear of the unknown and a lack of faith in the legal protection that a formal lease agreement will provide.

The fear factor may also relate to waking up some morning and having no reason to get out of the bed or it may be about the prospect of seeing another farmer farming one's land and not doing so in a manner that meets with the landowner's wholesome approval.

The risk of the tenant abusing the land or not paying the rent or simply not vacating the land when obliged to do so can also be frightening prospects in the mind of the landowner.

I can say however, based on my 40 years of dealing with such matters that such fears are unfounded except in a tiny minority of cases and such cases arose where no formal lease was in place or the parties did not know each other prior to entering into the letting.

To those farmers who are considering renting out their farms I would say seek out good advice from a professional who is well experienced in such matters and who can answer all your questions and deal with all your concerns.

Ideally you should know your tenant or at least enquire from a number of sources about his/her character. You should have a proper lease drawn up that includes any specific requirements that you may wish your tenant to observe and that deals comprehensively with such matters as your Basic Payment Entitlements.

The lease must be stamped with the Revenue Commissioners and Registered with the Property Services Regulatory Authority.


3
Basic payment considerations
The Basic Payment Scheme is due to end in 2020 at which time it will be replaced by a new scheme. The fear on most landowners' minds who are considering leasing is whether they might lose their entitlements if they opt to lease them out from 2019 onwards.


There is no immediate answer to this question as the terms of the replacement scheme have yet to be drawn up. If the status quo prevails in terms of what happened when the Single Farm Payment Scheme morphed into the Basic Payment Scheme, those leasing out land who also remained active farmers retained ownership of their entitlements.


3
At that time an active farmer was someone who declared a hectare or more on their annual declaration of areas. While this rule may apply as previously or may disappear altogether, caution would dictate that if one is to satisfy the definition of an active farmer, a retained area of five hectares might be more prudent.

Alternatively, landowners could require that a provision be included in the lease whereby any financial benefit (or a proportion thereof) resulting from any future area-based schemes that falls the way of the tenant will be reflected by an increase in rent.

Such an inclusion may ensure that at least a reasonable proportion of any future payments will go to the landowner as it is perfectly reasonable and fair that any financial payments received for farming the land should impact on the rental value of that land.

The Tax Relief Incentive
Arguably, the greatest incentive towards leasing land is the tax incentive. An annual tax saving of up to €16,000 can be made by an individual landowner in any one year.
Som.ie
accountants have a farm advice part


Also look at teagasc.ie
Long term land leasing

jaymla627

Jimmygoesmoo wrote: »

That may be it. There are 2 that I will approach and offer them first refusal. The neighbour bordering us first, then the other guy if the neighbour doesn’t want it. I’ve asked a few people about the rent and got a different opinions about 100 an acre apart! Then there’s the entitlements that complicate it even more. I have been in touch with the teagasc advisor so need to have a chat with him about it all to see what’s a fair price.

200 a acre is the max you could expect if you want the place kept right and maintained, the entitlement issue is a minefield, if a intensive lad takes the ground thats in derogation and the next cap means to draw it down you need to meet reduce stocking rate requirement plus restricted fertilizer rates and biodiversity measures then the lease holder can’t really abide by the above to meet new cap regulations and sfp won’t be drawable on the farm.....
Another issue if you go long term 7 year lease option to get tax free rental income if the farmer leasing breaks the lease your Tax free status on the leased money is suspended and back tax has to be paid on all income received for the duration the lease ran

wrangler

jaymla627 wrote: »

200 a acre is the max you could expect if you want the place kept right and maintained, the entitlement issue is a minefield, if a intensive lad takes the ground thats in derogation and the next cap means to draw it down you need to meet reduce stocking rate requirement plus restricted fertilizer rates and biodiversity measures then the lease holder can’t really abide by the above to meet new cap regulations and sfp won’t be drawable on the farm.....
Another issue if you go long term 7 year lease option to get tax free rental income if the farmer leasing breaks the lease your Tax free status on the leased money is suspended and back tax has to be paid on all income received for the duration the lease ran

I doubt that they'll have to accept 200/acre, dairy expansion is forging ahead and more land per cow will be required in the next couple of years. farm buildings aren't like houses they don't need a lot of maintenance. I used to say to my OH when she was expressing reservations about setting that they ''sure they can't steal the land anyway''
It's hard to look at the land being farmed by someone else but I see plenty of father son partnerships where the father doesn't approve of the way it's being minded or even not minded.
The entitlement situation is outside everyones control, you could do your best and the whole thing could be changed by a stroke of a pen.
Get a good high rent and if the entitlements survive it'll be a bonus

Dakota Dan

Ok folks, I'm hoping to lease my farm in the coming year, great grass growing farm but needs reseeding, I know a local auctioneer but was told to go with cork marts as they have the contacts, my family says local auctioneer what do you say?

wrangler

Dakota Dan wrote: »

Ok folks, I'm hoping to lease my farm in the coming year, great grass growing farm but needs reseeding, I know a local auctioneer but was told to go with cork marts as they have the contacts, my family says local auctioneer what do you say?

Doesn't matter where you go, those interested will find you, I got a great tenant from an ad in donedeal, also set my entitlements in donedeal,
I found that the best customers didn't want entitlements, probably for the best as they'll only confuse the lease if there's any changes in CAP

memorystick

Sorry for your loss. I’d approach a couple of neighbours that were and are sound to your dad and your mother. Same price to both and direct debit every month. Be fair to them.

And remember that the highest price isn’t always the best price.

Donald Trump

jaymla627 wrote: »

200 a acre is the max you could expect if you want the place kept right and maintained, the entitlement issue is a minefield, if a intensive lad takes the ground thats in derogation and the next cap means to draw it down you need to meet reduce stocking rate requirement plus restricted fertilizer rates and biodiversity measures then the lease holder can’t really abide by the above to meet new cap regulations and sfp won’t be drawable on the farm.....
Another issue if you go long term 7 year lease option to get tax free rental income if the farmer leasing breaks the lease your Tax free status on the leased money is suspended and back tax has to be paid on all income received for the duration the lease ran

I *think* I saw it mentioned before that you can, in theory, have someone else take over the remainder of the lease and still keep the tax credit.

Otherwise you'd get cowboys leasing for 7 years and telling you after 6 that they want the last year for free or else they'll break the lease and force you to pay tax on everything to that date.


I think that it is the case that you can only have one such tax free lease too. So that if you have 100 acres, you can't lease 50 to Mick and 50 to Pat and get tax relief on both leases (even if the total is under the limit)



The other consideration (depending on the probate) is that if any of the children are to inherit any of it, you would need to make sure you lease it to a qualifying farmer if you want to keep the ag relief. Although this would be the vast majority of farmers I'd say. Especially anyone looking to rent 200 acres.

wrangler

Donald Trump wrote: »

I *think* I saw it mentioned before that you can, in theory, have someone else take over the remainder of the lease and still keep the tax credit.

Otherwise you'd get cowboys leasing for 7 years and telling you after 6 that they want the last year for free or else they'll break the lease and force you to pay tax on everything to that date.


I think that it is the case that you can only have one such tax free lease too. So that if you have 100 acres, you can't lease 50 to Mick and 50 to Pat and get tax relief on both leases (even if the total is under the limit)



The other consideration (depending on the probate) is that if any of the children are to inherit any of it, you would need to make sure you lease it to a qualifying farmer if you want to keep the ag relief. Although this would be the vast majority of farmers I'd say. Especially anyone looking to rent 200 acres.

You can lease in two leases or any amount of leases.
also if the leases breaks down and you get another tenant, it continues tax free

djmc

I am living in Kerry too and there would be plenty lads interested in a 200 acre farm. i have no connection but https://www.mcquinnconsulting.ie/ might be a good person to start with.
if ye let the farm with entitlements for a 5 year period it would give ye some time to decide what to do more long term after that. sorry for the loss of your dad.

Donald Trump

wrangler wrote: »

You can lease in two leases or any amount of leases.
also if the leases breaks down and you get another tenant, it continues tax free

ah ok. I had misread this bit to mean only one lease. I gather now it refers to the 18k cap





https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/land-and-property/leasing-farm-land/index.aspx

You will only qualify for one reduction regardless of the number of qualifying leases you may have.

poor farmer

I have several farms on leases in myself, I would advise you to get good advice from Teagasc or a private consultant and use the services of an auctioneer that you can trust.
I wouldn't be offering it to anyone. Once it's advertised you'll soon find out who's interested. If you offer it to one person, someone else may be upset.
Auctioneer, is the fairest, it's there for anyone.
7 years would be the minimum term I would consider.
Sell off any machinery/ mobile plant, before it disappears.
A lot of these things come down to personal relationships.
Sorry for your loss.

wrangler

Donald Trump wrote: »

ah ok. I had misread this bit to mean only one lease. I gather now it refers to the 18k cap





https://www.revenue.ie/en/personal-tax-credits-reliefs-and-exemptions/land-and-property/leasing-farm-land/index.aspx

Yea, that sounds a bit ambigious alright but I've three leases all tax free up to the maximum 10 year lease limit, our farm is in joint names which means I can claim up to double the limit

jaymla627

wrangler wrote: »

I doubt that they'll have to accept 200/acre, dairy expansion is forging ahead and more land per cow will be required in the next couple of years. farm buildings aren't like houses they don't need a lot of maintenance. I used to say to my OH when she was expressing reservations about setting that they ''sure they can't steal the land anyway''
It's hard to look at the land being farmed by someone else but I see plenty of father son partnerships where the father doesn't approve of the way it's being minded or even not minded.
The entitlement situation is outside everyones control, you could do your best and the whole thing could be changed by a stroke of a pen.
Get a good high rent and if the entitlements survive it'll be a bonus

They can mine the place of p and k's; not maintain hedgerows/fencing/sheds and probably be leaving cattle out that little bit earlier in the spring and later housing in the autumn, anyone paying say north of 300 euro a acre for a place and giving back the sfp, is going to do all the above as the landowner has a saddle on his back and he will want some payback, our do you reckon you can get a crazy rental price and have the tenant maintain the place to your liking aswell

wrangler

jaymla627 wrote: »

They can mine the place of p and k's; not maintain hedgerows/fencing/sheds and probably be leaving cattle out that little bit earlier in the spring and later housing in the autumn, anyone paying say north of 300 euro a acre for a place and giving back the sfp, is going to do all the above as the landowner has a saddle on his back and he will want some payback, our do you reckon you can get a crazy rental price and have the tenant maintain the place to your liking aswell

That's the beauty of the 10 yr lease, until the last year or two it's in their interest to mind the P and K levels and when the lease is up landlord can go with 2 or 300kgs of 0 10 20/acre and maybe lime which wouldn't be onerous after ten years

wrangler

jaymla627 wrote: »

They can mine the place of p and k's; not maintain hedgerows/fencing/sheds and probably be leaving cattle out that little bit earlier in the spring and later housing in the autumn, anyone paying say north of 300 euro a acre for a place and giving back the sfp, is going to do all the above as the landowner has a saddle on his back and he will want some payback, our do you reckon you can get a crazy rental price and have the tenant maintain the place to your liking aswell

Most of my place is sheep fenced but the stakes are old, so if the tenant breasts the ditches I maintain the sheep fence but if they don't do the ditches I can't replace the stakes

trg

jaymla627 wrote: »

200 a acre is the max you could expect if you want the place kept right and maintained, the entitlement issue is a minefield, if a intensive lad takes the ground thats in derogation and the next cap means to draw it down you need to meet reduce stocking rate requirement plus restricted fertilizer rates and biodiversity measures then the lease holder can’t really abide by the above to meet new cap regulations and sfp won’t be drawable on the farm.....
Another issue if you go long term 7 year lease option to get tax free rental income if the farmer leasing breaks the lease your Tax free status on the leased money is suspended and back tax has to be paid on all income received for the duration the lease ran

So if midway through the 7th year the tenant breaks the terms of the lease you'd have to pay back the tax saved over the previous 6 years?

Water John

trg wrote: »

So if midway through the 7th year the tenant breaks the terms of the lease you'd have to pay back the tax saved over the previous 6 years?

You find another tenant.. It is a risk no doubt and that's a good reason not to chase the highest rental but get a stayer that you can trust.

Dakota, CCM would be stronger in East Cork in land and letting, maybe not in the rest of the county.

Donald Trump

jaymla627 wrote: »

They can mine the place of p and k's; not maintain hedgerows/fencing/sheds and probably be leaving cattle out that little bit earlier in the spring and later housing in the autumn, anyone paying say north of 300 euro a acre for a place and giving back the sfp, is going to do all the above as the landowner has a saddle on his back and he will want some payback, our do you reckon you can get a crazy rental price and have the tenant maintain the place to your liking aswell

You could give it to a fella for 100 an acre and he could do the same thing

Jimmygoesmoo

Thanks for the replies everyone - starting to get my head around this a bit better now. I have been talking to a teagasc advisor who was working with my father for a good while and seems like a good sort - I’m going to have a good chat with him about it and will also talk to the agent posted earlier on. Hopefully will get this moving in the new year.
Thanks

jaymla627

Donald Trump wrote: »

You could give it to a fella for 100 an acre and he could do the same thing

200 acre farm say took for 300 euro a acre and tag on another 300 euro plus to farm it, means 12k a month going out the door on dd, that’s 400k litres of milk needed to finance it at 30 cent a litre, so realistically to justify the above outlay the man taking the farm needs to tag on another 120 plus cows to his home farm to pay for the above circa 2500 euro minimum a cow to house these cows upgrade facilities parlour etc on home farm, the numbers don’t add up....

Donald Trump

jaymla627 wrote: »

200 acre farm say took for 300 euro a acre and tag on another 300 euro plus to farm it, means 12k a month going out the door on dd, that’s 400k litres of milk needed to finance it at 30 cent a litre, so realistically to justify the above outlay the man taking the farm needs to tag on another 120 plus cows to his home farm to pay for the above circa 2500 euro minimum a cow to house these cows upgrade facilities parlour etc on home farm, the numbers don’t add up....

200 acres might suit a fella who has bits taken all over the place and would like to consolidate into one lump. Am not saying they'd pay 300 though.

Jimmygoesmoo

That’s what I was thinking myself re the numbers, although we wouldn’t be expecting 300 or near it, that the numbers mightn’t work for someone to start out as a start up. My hope is that one of the bigger locals would tack it on as an out farm and the numbers might work for them.

kk.man

Jimmygoesmoo wrote: »

That’s what I was thinking myself re the numbers, although we wouldn’t be expecting 300 or near it, that the numbers mightn’t work for someone to start out as a start up. My hope is that one of the bigger locals would tack it on as an out farm and the numbers might work for them.

If your auctioneer puts the place up for 'private treaty' then you are in more control who gets to lease it. You can see the interest in it from the neighbours.

Dinzee Conlee

jaymla627 wrote: »

200 acre farm say took for 300 euro a acre and tag on another 300 euro plus to farm it, means 12k a month going out the door on dd, that’s 400k litres of milk needed to finance it at 30 cent a litre, so realistically to justify the above outlay the man taking the farm needs to tag on another 120 plus cows to his home farm to pay for the above circa 2500 euro minimum a cow to house these cows upgrade facilities parlour etc on home farm, the numbers don’t add up....

I don’t know if it’s some lads can’t use a calculator or they have big SFP behind them - but 300/acre while strong money wouldnt be unheard of around here... and lads wouldn’t be too hard on land...
I know of beef lads paying 200/acre on only average enough ground...

I think the land lease market is like the land sales market in a way - in that the prices often don’t seem to reflect reality, but very strong prices still seem to be paid, year after year...

OP - go to an agent, see what they say. Get them to put it out and see who comes back. Say it to a few neighbours if you like, but I would direct them to the agent...
Don’t be too hung up on price, get a good lad - but, don’t be too inclined to give it away either...
Jaymla has a point about asking for too much, but if a lad feels you’re a soft touch, it’s as bad as anything too...

1373

poor farmer wrote: »

I have several farms on leases in myself, I would advise you to get good advice from Teagasc or a private consultant and use the services of an auctioneer that you can trust.
I wouldn't be offering it to anyone. Once it's advertised you'll soon find out who's interested. If you offer it to one person, someone else may be upset.
Auctioneer, is the fairest, it's there for anyone.
7 years would be the minimum term I would consider.
Sell off any machinery/ mobile plant, before it disappears.
A lot of these things come down to personal relationships.
Sorry for your loss.

I’d strongly advise the op to follow this advice

trg

Water John wrote: »

You find another tenant.. It is a risk no doubt and that's a good reason not to chase the highest rental but get a stayer that you can trust.

Dakota, CCM would be stronger in East Cork in land and letting, maybe not in the rest of the county.

So if you can't get a tenant you pay back the tax that was saved?

Are you absolutely sure about this?

AmirPelavin01

I've been lurking around here too. What do you have in mind when you sell it? It might be a good thing to do but it might not be recommended because there might be money to gain by using the facilities. It would be a shame to lose such a good spot. I'd recommend trying some businesses on your property before selling it because it will be awesome if you can still keep it.

FixItAginTomora

trg wrote: »

So if midway through the 7th year the tenant breaks the terms of the lease you'd have to pay back the tax saved over the previous 6 years?

No if the tenant breaks the lease, this is not the landowners fault, therefore no tax benefits received are due back