teedub31

I approached a farmer this spring about some ground he owned. He told me that he already had 3 guys hunting the ground. With taht I said thank you and told him that I would check in with him from season to season in the chance that the current hunting setup changed.

Spring forward to earlier this fall. He called me up and said he was considering leasing his ground at the suggestions of friends he has in Chicago. He admitted that he has no experience in these types of arrangements and really has no idea what his property is worth in the form of a lease.

Now let me describe the property. It is 150 acres of FLAT crop ground with a 23 acre wood plot. This acreage is in east central indiana. We have some nice deer, but the facts are the 6 coujty region only produces about 3 or 4 Hoosier record book bucks each year (140 incehs). The One Buck Rule has done a great service in producing morfe and more 110-120 class deer though. The area has no turkey hunting. The farm ground in this area is fragmented by several owners. No fence rows, no CRP. Just mature wood lots and row crops. While this land I am looking at is decent for the area, it is far from prime. I know the property owner will be scouring the net to get a base line for what his ground would be worth even if it is comparing apples and organages. While the property is 173 acres, only about 30-35 are actually huntable (the woods and an allowable amount of crop acerage that surrounds the woods.)

What could I expect him to offer the lease for???? Keep in mind this is just a lease for permission to hunt. I would not be allowed to do any foodplots or management of any kind. I see sites saying primo ground goes for $10-$20 an acre. Does that include all the acreage you can't hunt because it is in the middle of 150 acre bean field???

I know his Illinois friends have filled his head with dollar signs based on Illinois leasing. However, should he ask me to make an offer, I was thinking that with the limitations of the ground I would offer him $5 an acre for the huntable ground (30-35 from above) that has the ability to produce a shot at a deer (it does not have to be of any particular class). But I wonder if the $150/ year offer is even enoug for him to bother with.


Advice for a rookie property leaser appreciated.

remmy123

that sounds fair to me, the lease is only worth what people will pay for it, for that amount of land I cant see anyone paying much more.

WaccamawHunter

That sounds fairly reasonable to me. I guess it's all about what it's worth to him though.

teedub31

Bad thing is we had an idiot come into the area from outta state and offered $1500 for a 23 acre woods. That is over $50 an acre. He said it was cheaper for him to do this hear then pay the prices he was subject to back home. The idiot made an rediculous offer that the land owner could not refuse. Unfortuantely, it has created a pseudo base line for all leases to be initially compared against. It is kinda like the lake region in north east Indiana. Chicagoians come here to buy lake property that 10 years ago was $30 to $40K. Their frame of refrence is the $750K lake property from where they are from. So they think they are getting a bargain making an offer of $300K. Now all the properties sell for that, but not to Indiana citizens, but richers from ChiTown.

turkey guide

I would offer $250. if you think it's worthwhile and cross your fingers. Thats just over $7 per acre for what you consider the huntable acres. I would explain this to him. But he's gonna be thinking a dollar amount per acre for the whole farm, more like $1000. There is always a chance that someone else will offer more but thats their problem if they pay too much. Just what you think it's worth, and be prepared to not get it. The best chance though is to meet the guy face to face and offer cash. If he takes it, you have a place to hunt for one season at least. Then you can offer more if it's worth more, or look elsewhere. I recently had a guy try and get $1000. from me for 80 acres of pasture with cows on it. You could sit in one spot and shoot to every corner of the ground, if there were deer, and the cows weren't in the way. The guys who leased it the year before, for supposedly $1000. didn't want it back. I wonder why? Poor guys sent him money sight unseen and got screwed. Five guys showed up to hunt a pasture with 50 cows in it and did see and shoot one doe. But now this farmer and all his neghbors are completely convinced that their crappy land is worth $12.50 an acre.
When I told him I couldn't in good conscience give him $1. an acre and ask hunters to pay me $1.25 he got pissed and said I was trying to cheat him cause he knew he could get more.
One acre is all you really need if you pick the perfect one, but you'll likely have to lease several at a time, usually paying for many unused acres. The one your favorite stand is on is all that matters and how much it is worth depends on you. I've seen spots I'd give my left nut for, that were perfect setups with perfect sign, no bigger than my house, but they were on 700 acre tracts of land that were priced over $20. an acre and the farmer wanted cash, not body parts!

cardeeer

Some guys I know instead of a acreage lease they set up a scale payment per deer actually taken. Doe 50.00. up to 4 pt 100.00. then 50.00 a point for every point over 4. I think 150.00 would be a insult to the land owners around here. Several years ago I paid 500.00 to hunt a small 25 acre farm next to a unhunted federal park. after 3 years of paying and hunting there I got a 186 score buck. Well worth the 1500.00. The problem was others found out and I lost the place to a guy who offered the owner 3000.00 ,Good luck

LKNCHOPPERS

I wouldn't think anybody would want to be bothered for less than $500. I would offer $500 to be taken seriously.

timbercruiser

I lease a few thousand acres for some clients here in NW Florida. I charge a flat $6 an acre and the leasee pays for proof of hunter's insurance, about $.20 an acre. It doesn't matter if it is swamp, cutover or what. Make sure you have a written lease showing all agreements with the landowner. If you can't plant foodplots, try to offer the farmer a fair price to leave some unharvested corners or strips of crops for the wildlife.

teedub31

That is kinda my point. Unfortuantely the property is not worth that as most of the fragmented property in east central Indiana is not prime "hunting ground".

The land is greatly fragmented with maybe 10 people owning land in a square mile that is 80-90% till ground. Just to get the 600 acres in the square mile, based upon nobody being interested for less then $500 you are saying that it would cost me $5000 a year to hunt marginal ground for 2 months a year??

Eevrybody thinks their stuff is always worth more then it actually is in a local market. Problem arises when people from out of the local market bring their experiences into the local market and drive locals out of the area. Average wage in east central indiana is only about $10/hour and the cost of living refelcts that until someone from ChiTOwn making $30/hr comes in for a few weeks and increases the cost of hunting by 3 fold and then leaves back to his high paying job all the while the local neighbors have been shut out of access to proprty.

All in all it is just a bad situation. I agree that a person should have the right to do with their property what they want, but just remember that those actions of screwing you neighbors over for $$ ends upo haunting your ass in the future.