Fontanelle, IA | Blusteryknollfarm - 6/28/2026 06:56
According to the link shared by CattleRustler, you've gotta be careful with the having a family member farm it because there is some fine print. It can't be a minor child or a spouse (unless the spouse has a distinct and separate farming operation).
As I read it, it certainly looks like the OP should be able to file the good faith exemption paperwork to avoid being in trouble THIS year but will need to stop farming anything owned by this landlord NEXT year to be in compliance.
You're right that switching from rental to custom farming or passing the lease opportunity on to a "non affiliated party" is the simplest solution to avoid compliance issues going forward.
One thing that isn't clear to me is what happens to a person who farms something out of compliance without being in any programs if they stop farming any out of compliance land and want to participate. Say the OP has an 18 year old son who he wants to give a chance to start on his own and let's him rent the land in question here. Does that screw up eligibility in the future or only as long as he farms the offending piece?
Hypothetically, The OP’s son could rent it BUT he would be walking a very fine line….
As long as the son is farming the “out-of-compliance” farm, he gets NO crop insurance and gets NO govt payments as long as he rents the farm. Govt cream (despite the NAT picture of payments) has injected additional $$ liquidity into most operations that either cushioned a disaster or ensured a profit. It also excludes him from renting additional pieces with other prospective landlords because he’d throw them out of compliance. The danger becomes when dad lines up a piece and he and son decide to off-the-books tag team it. Paperwork gets messy. Checking a box on a form becomes quasi-fraud. Dad gets a Crop insurance audit and the bushels don’t match the scale tickets or something. ….
They got Al Capone for tax fraud…..
Son just better custom farm it so he gets a paper check for services vs. Not some bushel custom-farm agreement whereby a govt audit could spin it to a custom share lease. Most local FSA county committees would have a hard time believing the son had no knowledge of the farms “black-balled state” if the dad pleaded ignorance and got the waiver earlier. |
Wetland Violation on a newly rented farm from previous owner. What to do next?
