UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



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BULLETIN No. 850 



OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 



Contribution from the Office of Farm Management 



H. C. TAYLOR, Chief 



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Washington, D. C. 



, . •' — - 



April SO, 1920 



RENT CONTRACTS IN TYPICAL jfiBfi&EKIES OF THE 



WHEAT BELT. 



By E. A. Boeger, Agriculturist. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Sources of information 1 



Description of areas 1 



Systems of renting found 3 



Minor factors concerned in renting of farms . 7 



Share rent of land without buildings 9 



Leases 10 



Page. 



The lease year 10 



Tenants' preferences and prospects 11 



The landlord's opinion as to the long lease ... 11 



Prospective ownership by tenants 11 



Belief of tenants as to trend of rents 12 



Probable increase in tenancy in areas visited . 13 



SOURCES OF INFORMATION. 



THE FACTS upon which this discussion is "based were procured 

 primarily for the purpose of acquainting the tenants in any of 

 of the principal wheat-producing States with the methods of renting 

 in vogue in other parts of the region. It was thought, also, that 

 the" information collected would be welcomed by both landlords and 

 tenants as increasing their knowledge concerning the renting of farms 

 in their own localities. 



The material here presented was gathered in the spring of 1917, 

 from tenants who were visited on their farms in the various localities 

 chosen for the inquiry. Two considerations governed the selection 

 of the counties to be visited, viz, the relative importance of the wheat 

 crop and the per cent of tenancy. The desired combination of con- 

 ditions seemed most likely to be found in Barton County, Kans. ; Clay 

 County, Nebr.; Spink County, S. Dak.; Barnes County, N. Dak.; 

 and Renville County, Minn. (For the location of the counties visited, 

 see fig. 1.) The number of records obtained in these counties, in the 

 order named, was 80, 91, 79, 71, and 82, respectively. 



DESCRIPTION OF AREAS. 



When comparing ways of renting in any one county with those 

 of another, it should be taken into account that though each of the 

 counties in which investigations were made is situated in a typical 

 wheat-producing area, the organization of the farms and the practices 

 differ more or less on account of differences in geographical location. 



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