While it's a bad situation to be in and the loss of ground that's been farmed for 40 yrs hurts, it sounds to me like you really don't know the "why" yet . . .  I try to learn from my mistakes and a polite call to the land owner maybe in order to find out why . . . . for future dealings, that could allow you to farm it agian. Who knows, word maybe spreading right now to others you rent from, they maybe quesitoning the same  community gosip . .. .

I personally do not deal with people that are not upfront and honest (I wouldn't be selling beans to someone that was underhandedly going around the neightborhood spreading falsehoods or squewing the truths).

At the same time, I would be on a positive public ralations tour, communcating with all remaining and future land owners I rent from to ensure there is no mis-communication in the future that could lead to such incidents. If the 40+yr landowner rented it out for more then you were/are willing to pay - then its water under the bridge - no big deal, as you were not going to pay that amount anyway . . . . Some ramblings that have cross my mind . ..