rogergreaves
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- Jun 18, 2014
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I have a neighbor who used to board horses but no longer does. His place is down the street from me, fenced and grows good grass. I have just a few cows. My neighbor asked me if my cows could come eat his grass. It seemed like a good deal for both of us, I just had some things to get done on them so I couldn't bring them down until I was finished. A couple of weeks. No money was mentioned at first but in those couple of weeks, his desire for a gate in a particular place came up and I offered to trade him a gate for the grazing. Another occasion, his wife mentioned how much they used to get when boarding horses, $150/mo. per head. I got the idea that she expected me to pay that rate which I'm not willing to do. So I asked for a contract.
The guy said he didn't have time to draw one up. I downloaded one from the internet and changed a few things to fit the situation and took it down there and we both signed it. It was very simple. My cows to his place on this date and removed when he says. I provide the water tank, and minerals. I can come in and tend them. They will move them from enclosure to enclosure as they see fit to manage the grass. I provide the gate when the cows get there. The wife called me the next day furious that I had made a contract for their land and "forced" her drunk husband to sign it. The phone connection was terrible so I drove down there to talk to her. She was more angry than before. The issue of her former boarding rate came up again. She tore up the contract and threw it at my feet. That was two years ago and the "f-ing" contract issue comes up almost every time the guy and I are at the same place drinking beer.
We're leasing a bull from another farm. Went over there, selected from their five and came up with a price. Asked them to forward their contract to us, well sign it and send it back with a check ASAP. Please put the stated value of the bull on the contract. This is their first year leasing bulls so they don't have a contract ready to go. No problem, we have a few weeks to get ready. She emails us and says she checked with another farm that we both know and they don't use contracts so she shouldn't have to.
What gives with this? Why the aversion to writing things down? I'm pretty new at this stuff. From my perspective, without it, in the grazing case, I would have "gifted" my little herd of animals to this other guy and he could have done as he pleased with them. Or, once there they could have billed me for anything they wanted for "boarding" and maybe held the animals until paid. In the bull leasing case, say the bull got out and the Sheriff shot him. What's my liability? If I bought him, he's worth about $2500. But if he dies in my care, what's he worth then, $25,000? It seems a simple written agreement works for both parties. What if I decided not to return the bull or invited every cow in the area over to be bred? I mean he's at my place, can't I sub-lease him? Well, that depends on the contract, right?
Is this normal in the cattle biz? This aversion to written agreements?
The guy said he didn't have time to draw one up. I downloaded one from the internet and changed a few things to fit the situation and took it down there and we both signed it. It was very simple. My cows to his place on this date and removed when he says. I provide the water tank, and minerals. I can come in and tend them. They will move them from enclosure to enclosure as they see fit to manage the grass. I provide the gate when the cows get there. The wife called me the next day furious that I had made a contract for their land and "forced" her drunk husband to sign it. The phone connection was terrible so I drove down there to talk to her. She was more angry than before. The issue of her former boarding rate came up again. She tore up the contract and threw it at my feet. That was two years ago and the "f-ing" contract issue comes up almost every time the guy and I are at the same place drinking beer.
We're leasing a bull from another farm. Went over there, selected from their five and came up with a price. Asked them to forward their contract to us, well sign it and send it back with a check ASAP. Please put the stated value of the bull on the contract. This is their first year leasing bulls so they don't have a contract ready to go. No problem, we have a few weeks to get ready. She emails us and says she checked with another farm that we both know and they don't use contracts so she shouldn't have to.
What gives with this? Why the aversion to writing things down? I'm pretty new at this stuff. From my perspective, without it, in the grazing case, I would have "gifted" my little herd of animals to this other guy and he could have done as he pleased with them. Or, once there they could have billed me for anything they wanted for "boarding" and maybe held the animals until paid. In the bull leasing case, say the bull got out and the Sheriff shot him. What's my liability? If I bought him, he's worth about $2500. But if he dies in my care, what's he worth then, $25,000? It seems a simple written agreement works for both parties. What if I decided not to return the bull or invited every cow in the area over to be bred? I mean he's at my place, can't I sub-lease him? Well, that depends on the contract, right?
Is this normal in the cattle biz? This aversion to written agreements?
