Q: I have a new tenant but I am not been happy with the way he is farming the land. I don’t think he’s working the land properly or taking proper weed control measures and I wonder about the decisions he has made about the crops. What are a landlord’s rights?
A: The rights of tenants and landlords are determined by the lease agreement. Therefore, I suggest you look to the agreement to see what it says about cropping decisions and farming methods. As a general rule, many crop share leases will provide for a joint decision to be made on cropping and various inputs.
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In cash leases, however, the decisions are generally left up to the tenant. Of course, there is nothing to prevent a landlord and tenant from setting their own unique terms.
Most leases will also provide that the tenant will employ “normally acceptable farming practices”, “farm in a husband-like manner” or some such wording. Similarly, a lease will also provide that a tenant will not make major changes to the land without the landlord’s consent. Major changes would include razing farm buildings, bulldozing bush and changing the drainage.
I accept that in many cases there is no written farm lease and the agreement is based on a handshake. However, even in such cases there are certain assumptions made by the law. Those include that the tenant will use farming practices that are acceptable in the area and will not make major changes to the property without the consent of the landlord.
There is no set definition of what constitutes normally acceptable farming practices. In a dispute a court would look at what other farmers in the area do. Some years ago, I followed a dispute between a landlord and tenant over weed control and summerfallowing. Local agrologists and farmers were called to testify about their farming practices.
The issue of acceptable farming practices also arises under so-called right-to-farm laws and under crop insurance. Agricultural operations laws provide that a nuisance claim can’t be made against a farmer using normally acceptable agricultural practices.
Some years ago, I chaired the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance appeal panel. A large part of the cases dealt with whether the loss was due to an uninsured cause of loss, such as poor weed control.
Finally, the fact that you are unhappy with the tenant does not give you the right to terminate the lease. The tenant has the right to continue to farm the land until the end of the term.
The one circumstance when a lease can be terminated early is non-payment of rent. In the situation you describe, your remedy would be to sue the tenant for damages.
Don Purich is a former practising lawyer who is now involved in publishing, teaching and writing about legal issues. His columns are intended as general advice only. Individuals are encouraged to seek other opinions and/or personal counsel when dealing with legal matters.
