Farm management for landowners who live somewhere else

A farm manager runs the business side of your land so you don’t have to. That means selecting and dealing with the tenant, negotiating and enforcing the lease, and collecting the rent. If you handle your own payments, we make sure the bills get paid. If you would rather we did it, we pay the bills and taxes out of an account held for you. It also means keeping an eye on the crop through the season, tracking soil fertility, handling USDA and FSA paperwork, and keeping you informed. Many owners who use one live somewhere else, have retired from farming, or inherited land they have never worked. Some want it set up so the next generation can take it over, with somebody there to teach them.

Yes. We start by finding out what you actually own and what condition it is in: the current tenant and lease, the FSA records, the farm’s history, and whether the rent has been reviewed since the person before you set it. You will get a clear picture before you have to make a single decision.

Some absentee owners are on a rent that was set low years ago, often by a parent, and hasn’t kept up with the market. We review the lease against current market rates for comparable land, tell you where it actually sits, and if it is low we handle the renegotiation with the tenant. We do not push you to change tenants. We make you aware of where the market is and keep working with the farmer you have. Cash rent is a standing item on the annual meeting agenda for every farm we manage.

You receive monthly income and expense statements, an annual profit and loss, and one annual meeting with a written agenda covering farm value, markets, cash rent, projections and any improvements worth making. Through the season, our farm managers stay in touch with you and your farmer. Owners on our highest level of service also receive monthly bank reconciliation and monthly bank statements. We cater the service to what each owner actually needs, so the exact package is worth a conversation.

No. We farm at scale on our own account, and when we manage land for an owner, we don’t farm it. If we ever farm an owner’s land, we don’t charge to manage it. We also do not buy the land we sell. Those lines exist so that an owner who cannot be here never has to wonder whose interest we are serving.

Never. We have not accepted a commission, referral fee, placement fee or any other compensation from a tenant, not once. We are paid by the owner and only by the owner. We also do not micromanage the tenant or force them to use particular practices or inputs. They do their job, and we are here if they need us.

Yes. We manage land for families who live far from it, in the US and in Europe. We have brokers and farm managers who speak German, so you can do much of this in German. Some of it, the initial setup in particular, may still need you here in person, and we will help you navigate that and point you to the right people.

Foreign ownership of US farmland carries a federal reporting requirement, separate from any question of whether you are allowed to own the land. The form is filed with the Farm Service Agency county office where the land sits. We don’t file it for you or tell you whether you owe one. What we do is flag it early, make sure the required forms get filed, and connect you to professionals who understand both the American and the European side. State rules on foreign ownership also vary, and we can help you navigate the nuances rather than guess at them.

Hageman Realty is licensed in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arkansas and Texas, with the office in Remington, Indiana. We are not licensed outside the United States and we do not hold ourselves out as brokers anywhere else.