Land-Lease Survey Report for Southwest Virginia

Farm Business Management Update, April/May 2003

By Tom Covey and Daniel Osborne

The Southwest Virginia Farm Business Management Extension Agents, Tom Covey and Daniel Osborne, conducted a land-lease survey during December 2002 and January 2003. Over 5,400 surveys were mailed to farmers and landowners in Southwest Virginia. We received 259 (4.8%) from the counties of Alleghany, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski, Roanoke, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe.

The results of the survey are summarized in the following tables. Since the fair value of land rent varies significantly from situation to situation, the information presented is intended for reference purposes only. For more information on farmland leasing, contact your area Farm Business Management Extension Agent.

Land Leasing Survey Results For Southwest Virginia
	Pasture*				Whole Farm*
	# of Acres	Cost/Acre ($)	Total Cost ($)		# of Acres	Cost/Acre ($)	Total Cost ($)
Responses	127				84
Average	108		1,944.79		212		3,364.88
Weighted Average		18.06				15.88
High	700	64.00	17,500.00		1,700	55.00	27,500.00
Low	5	2.00	80.00		10	0.25	50.00
Totals	13,570		245,044.00		17,802		282,650.00
	Cropland*				High Value, Specialty & Low Acre Crops
	# of Acres	Cost/Acre ($)	Total Cost ($)		# of Acres	Cost/Acre ($)	Total Cost ($)
Responses	54				8
Average	72		1,853.80		19		2,373.00
Weighted Average		25.85				126.98
High	400	75.00	13,500.00		100	200.00	11,000.00
Low	4	1.39	40.00		1	100.00	150.00
Totals	3,872		100,105.00		150		18,984.00
* Farm land rented at zero cost was not included in these calculations

Other information relating to the survey is as follows:

1. About 55% of the responses were from landlords.
2. Just over 20% of the leases reported were to family members.
3. Only 27% of the leases reported were written leases.
4. The terms for about 55% of the written leases were for one year.
5. In over 70% of the leases reported, the tenant was in charge of weed control, brush hogging, minor fence repair, and fertilizer and lime application.

Land Leasing Survey Results for the Bland, Smyth, Wythe & Washington County Region
	Pasture*	Cropland*	Whole Farm*
Responses	25	14	22
Weighted Average Cost	20	37	16
High ($)	40	71	71
Low ($)	2	20	1
Land Leasing Survey Results for the Carroll, Grayson, & Patrick County Region
	Pasture*	Cropland*	Whole Farm*
Responses	26	10	6
Weighted Average Cost	22	18	9
High ($)	40	50	18
Low ($)	11	7	6
Land Leasing Survey Results for the Coalfield Counties Region (Includes Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, & Wise Counties)
	Pasture*	Cropland*	Whole Farm*
Responses	26	6	20
Weighted Average Cost	16	53	16
High ($)	64	70	55
Low ($)	3	15	0.25
Land Leasing Survey Results for the New River Valley Region (Includes Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, & Pulaski Counties)
	Pasture*	Cropland*	Whole Farm*
Responses	40	18	31
Weighted Average Cost	18	22	19
High ($)	55	59	32
Low ($)	6	1	2
Land Leasing Survey Results for the Roanoke Valley Region (Includes Alleghany, Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, & Roanoke Counties)
	Pasture*	Cropland*	Whole Farm*
Responses	9	6	5
Weighted Average Cost	12	19	10
High ($)	49	34	19
Low ($)	5	3	2
* Responses in which the farm land was rented at no cost were not included in these calculations

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