We started our family farm corporation in 2011 mainly for the purpose of transitioning the farm business to the next generation. E & C Myers Farms, Inc. consists of the farm equipment and grain, and it performs the farming operations. Evan and Chuck are employees of the corporation. Evan and Cassie, and Chuck and Gloria are the corporation shareholders. Each year Evan and Cassie build sweat equity in the business by receiving shares from Chuck and Gloria, in order to gradually transition the farming business to Evan and Cassie. Land ownership is outside the corporation, so family members, as well as non-family landowners, lease farmland to the corporation. Our immediate family, as owners of the farm corporation, are not only tenants farming the land, but also landlords leasing land to the farm corporation. We understand and experience the risks and rewards of being both landlords and tenants.
Above are some pictures of our farmland.
Chuck's brother, Bill, helps in the fields during corn harvest, but Chuck and Evan perform most all of the other farm operations themselves. Even so, we have capacity to farm more acres. We are actively seeking more farmland to buy or lease in order to better utilize our resources. We do our best to accommodate our landlords with the flexibility and willingness to work with several different lease types.
Cash Lease
An agreed upon dollar amount per acre paid to the landlord, usually split into two payments each year. This type of lease is low risk for the landlord, but high risk for the tenant. In good years, the tenant might profit more than the landlord, but in bad years, losses for the tenant are more likely.
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Crop Share Lease
Seed, fertilizer, and chemical input costs, along with the resulting yield, are shared by the landlord and tenant. 50/50 is the most common split. The landlord and tenant share the risk, so both profit in good years, but also share the downside in bad years. This is the most fair type of lease, but requires more involvement from the landlord.
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Flex Lease
This is a guaranteed per acre payment to the landlord, with potential for a bonus payment after harvest, depending on the resulting yield and crop prices. This is a modest amount of risk for the landlord because the guaranteed amount is usually lower than market cash rent. They may only receive the guaranteed payment in a bad year, but they also share in additional profits in a good year.
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