Did you know that under Wisconsin statutes, a farmland lease for more than one year must be in writing and signed by both parties in order to be enforceable? Leasing land without a written lease can get messy quickly. As Phil Harris, former Ag Law Specialist for UW-Madison Extension once said, “If you’re entering into an agreement that is important enough to you that you would go to court to enforce it, it’s worth taking the time to put that agreement in writing.”

University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension is hosting a live web meeting entitled Farmland Markets & Leasing Contracts on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 from 11 am – noon on several aspects of farmland leasing. Join Extension Educators and a Land Access Navigator to learn about farmland values, building a lease agreement and special considerations for various types of lease agreements.

The first half of the hour-long web meeting will feature:

• Farmland markets and rental prices: Simon Jette Nantel, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Farm Management, UW-River Falls
• Building a Robust Lease: Heather Schlesser, UW-Madison Extension Marathon County Agriculture Educator

During the second half of the meeting, participants will be placed in Breakout Rooms that they have selected during the registration process. The Breakout Room topics include:

• Leasing Buildings/Facilities: Carl Duley, UW-Madison Extension Buffalo County Agriculture Agent, and Bill Halfman, UW-Madison Extension Monroe County Agriculture Agent
• Flexible Leases: Scott Reuss, UW-Madison Extension Marinette County Agriculture Agent
• Grazing/Pasture Leases: Gene Schriefer, UW-Madison Extension Iowa County Agriculture Agent
• Small acreage and long-term investments on leased land: Erin Schneider, Farmland Access Navigator, Renewing the Countryside and Jason Fischbach, UW-Madison Extension Bayfield County Agriculture Agent
• Renting Irrigated Land: Ken Schroeder, UW-Madison Extension Portage County Agriculture Agent

Following the Breakout Room sessions, participants have the option to go back to the main room to ask questions of any of the speakers.

Farmland Markets & Leasing Contracts is directed to both landlords and renters and is available at no cost, but pre-registration is required. Extension recognizes that producers are receiving information for a lot of meetings this winter; the Farm Ready Research webinar website go.wisc.edu/FarmReadyResearch is your place to find all information about UW-Madison Extension Agriculture programs. While you are registering for the leasing web meeting you can also register for any other farm management, dairy, or livestock programs that interest you.

For more information about Farmland Markets & Leasing Contracts contact Joy Kirkpatrick at joy.kirkpatrick@wisc.edu or call 608.263.3485.