Tillable connects landowners with interested growers
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
An online marketplace is helping landowners receive fair compensation for land they wish to lease.
About 40 percent of all U.S. farmland is rented and the national farmland rental market is worth about US$32 billion annually. But many owners aren’t sure of their land’s value, said Corbett Kull, CEO of Tillable.
“We’re trying to let landowners understand what their land is worth, and we want to connect them with great farmers,” Kull told Farms.com. “Some landowners might not have a great network of growers to draw upon, and this gives them access to a larger pool of farmers who might want to rent their farm.”
Landowners and prospective renters must each create individual profiles on Tillable’s website.
“A landowner goes onto Tillable to create a listing for their farm,” Kull said. “We would then set an offer period for the farm. Growers also make accounts and profiles that includes years of experience, size of operation, tools they use and farming techniques.
“Once growers have completed their profiles, they can make offers on farms in their area. The process is a blind offer, which means other growers can’t see the offers. And landowners can’t see any of the offers until the offer period has passed. Once it has passed, the landowner can choose the grower they want to rent the land to.”
After the two parties have established a relationship, they can sign a lease agreement and transfer payments through Tillable.
Landowners and renters also have the flexibility to customize the lease, Kull said.
“We have a standard lease that we recommend landowners use, but they could also upload their own to the platform if they want,” he said. “Customization can take place around certain things the landowner wants. That can be anything from insurance coverage amounts, to making sure ditches are mowed or ensuring best practices are followed.”
In addition, Tillable collects relevant farm performance data, Kull said.
“For the most part it’s centered around yield, the crop planted and any soil test data that’s taking place throughout the growing season,” he said. “It gives the landowners the ability to take a history of the farm, what has taken place, how the soil is being treated and how the crops are performing.”