By Katie Drewitz
The Fillmore and Houston County Extension offices are currently collecting responses to the 2024-2025 Fillmore and Houston County land rent surveys. If you are a land owner in Fillmore or Houston County you may see a paper copy of the survey arrive in the mail. University of Minnesota Extension greatly appreciates everyone who takes the time to respond to this anonymous survey. If you do not receive a paper copy in the mail or would prefer to fill out the survey online you can do so at: z.umn.edu/LandRentSurvey. All surveys are due back to the Extension office by November 1, 2024.
The land rent survey is used to collect local land rent data to track area trends. The information is compiled and the composite information is published in local papers and at both Extension offices. All responses to this survey – whether by mail or online – are anonymous and only the composite information is shared.
There are many variables that must be considered when negotiating land rent prices. People often struggle on where to begin these sometimes challenging conversations. The values produced from the land rent survey, both the average and the range, serves as a starting point. Negotiating parties often prefer to use values that come from the University of Minnesota Extension because they come from an unbiased third party. In addition, the data from this survey comes from local land owners and renters and is for the current year.
Land rent questions are one of the most frequently asked at the Extension office. While a fair number of those calls are local, many are from absentee landowners who live out of the area. The land rent survey results are a tool to aid these conversations. Your participation ensures that this unique service can continue being offered.
This survey, nor Extension, never tells anyone what they should be paying or charging for rent. Individual parcels of land may warrant rental values above or below an average value based on production potential, tenant and landlord relationships, economic goals, and other factors. The land rent values presented by Extension are only a starting point for a conversation. It is the responsibility of the landlord and tenant to consider all factors when negotiating land rent agreements. Extension does not favor either side of these negotiations. Rather, our intent is to foster positive communication between tenants and landowners.
If you have questions about the survey, land rent in general, or any other horticulture, agriculture or natural resources topic, please feel free to call your local Extension offices at 507-765-3896 or 507-725-5807.
Katie Drewitz is the University of Minnesota Extension Agriculture, Production, Horticulture & Natural Resources educator for Fillmore and Houston Counties.
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