How to rent hay field?

Hello All - First post here.  My Mother owns 40 acres that's been in her family forever.  The land is located in southwest Virginia.  She just turned 90, so I have started taking care of more and more things for here.  The land has never had crops on it that I am aware of.  It has always been used for either hay or pasture.  Our current tenant is raising beef cattle and has been on the land for at least 15 years.  There are only about 30 acres that are viable for pasture or hay production, as the rest is wooded.  The current tenant is leaving.  To my knowledge, the tenant has never put down any fertilizer or lime.  I want to give the land a break from cattle for a while.  He kept about 25 head on the land, which I felt was too many for the size of the land.

 

I want to just grow hay on the land for the next several years.  What would be a fair price to charge someone to harvest the hay on those 30 acres using all their own equipment?  Do you base it on acreage or number of bails harvested, etc.?  I'm just hoping to get enough to offset the biggest part of the property taxes.

 

For the first 2-3 years, I am guessing that the quality and quality won't be great until we get down some fertilizer and lime in order to get things back in shape.  Would it be fair for me to pay for the fertilizer and lime and the other person to supply the labor and equipment, then probably charge a reduced rate for the hay for those first years?

 

Thanks

 

 

How to rent hay field?