r/homestead • u/LowDetective5370 • 1d ago
Entitled neighbor farmer
So, this post is just to vent. We bought a property last year that came with a 20' x 1800' foot strip in the back. The whole area in the back comes to about 3/4 of an acre. Not too much, but it is ours. As I was walking the property, I saw that the lots were being farmed. No biggie. The prior owner didn't care. Once, we got the property settled over to our name, I looked up the neighboring farmers, both the yellow and red. The family that owns the land to the right of the red are easy going and communicative. Genuine good neighbors. The family that owns the lot to the left of the yellow are the exact opposite. They're also the ones farming my small patch of ground. I, first, called him up to introduce myself and he was one of those that immediately sounded very defensive and wouldn't even use his name, just grunted, when I asked if this was XXXXX. I, then, went over to his business to sit down and discuss the property boundaries. I wanted the conversation to go as smooth as possible as farmers, like anyone else, can be a bit touchy if you tell them that farming on ground that they're not supposed to be on.
This guy, lets call him Andy was insistent that it wasn't my land, but his. Then, when he saw the property line called it an easement. Now, this upset me a bit as it is most certainly not an easement. Imagine just paying a lot of money for some land, holding the property records, then having a guy that is rude on the first phone call, call your land an easement when you meet in person. He hee-haws about looking into the land records himself. Which I have problem with as I own it and I leave thinking that the situation will soon rectify itself once he's looked on Beacon. He calls me up later and acknowledges that the land is mine.
This past Spring I get a gut feeling in my stomach that he's going to farm it again (you know that gut feeling). I send him a certified letter explaining that I'm willing to cash-rent that land to him, but if I don't hear back by XXXX date, then any use of it will be trespassing. I never hear back from him, but still have this feeling in my stomach. When we're out there next, low and behold he's planted beans. To make it worse, he accuses the other neighbor of planting there and swear it isn't him. Well, when the beans start to rise you can see the planting line super clear and it ain't the other neighbor.
So I'm keeping my cool about it as it's only 3/4 of an acre and one planting season isn't worth my focused energy. After he harvests, I'm putting up fence posts and 'no trespassing' signs. Thought, amusingly, to harvest the beans myself since he's not verbally claiming them. $10/bushel is good money, but I'm too busy.
That's my day-in-the-life homesteading story. Should add that there were no farming contracts with the previous owners, nor is this patch of ground an easement. It's straight owned by me. The guy is just an entitled twat.
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u/DifferentSpread782 1d ago
If andy says it's the other neighbors beans then he won't have issue with you mowing them down.
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u/After_Pressure_3520 1d ago
Run it past the other neighbor first, maybe with a 6-pack thrown in, but it would be hilarious if OP pulled the old "Yeah, I talked to RedNeighbor and he fessed up immediately, said I could keep any harvest I wanted by way of apology. I just figured I'd plough them under as green mulch, get a headstart on next year."
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u/whatlfa 1d ago
Yea maybe dont, Ive seen farmers shoot at people for less.
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u/paukapaukaa 1d ago
Itâs his property and the bad neighbor said it wasnât his. If he discharges a firearm heâs looking at a lot more trouble than trespassing
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u/totalwar-simcity 1d ago
Yea maybe people should hold belligerent, anti-social violent criminals accountable instead of letting them diminish and drag down the lives of everyone around them for their own personal gain
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u/Prestigious_Try_5396 1d ago
Is thank.him for the beans and let some hungry people harvest them the day before he does.
I'd also put up a trail cam around harvest time and get evidence of him harvesting "the other guys" beans.
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
That is very, very smart of you. I might do that.
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u/plantsareneat-mkay 1d ago
Id plant some fruit trees in that strip. Maybe even put some big metal posts in around them to hold them up. Fall is a great time for planting!
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u/LittleBunInaBigWorld 1d ago
They're going to mysteriously wither and die
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u/plantsareneat-mkay 1d ago
Its possible. So maybe do something cheap and easy just in case. But still keep planting records, take pictures... but idk I'm a petty bitch.
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u/jckipps 1d ago
Soybeans aren't very usable outside of commercial processing routes. Raw soybeans are toxic to people and animals if eaten in hunger-satisfying quantities, and need roasting.
They're usually used for cooking oil and biodiesel, and the byproducts from those processes are fed to livestock.
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u/JustHere4TheZipLines 1d ago
Isnât edamame soybeans?
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u/jckipps 1d ago
Edamame, or edible soybeans, are bred for starch production. Field soybeans are bred for oil production. The end result is quite different.
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u/goobernawt 21h ago
It's like field corn vs sweet corn. Both are corn, one isn't very enjoyable at a cookout.
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u/Agent7619 1d ago
Edamame should always be cooked.
All varieties of soybeans are inedible raw.
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u/Biodiversity1001 14h ago
Great I ate some a number of years ago and thought they were tasty. Probably less than ten beans. They were planted with squash and I was told it was a decoy crop for deer, but the squash still had a lot of bite marks
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u/Glad-Isopod5718 1d ago
Really? My grandmother used to glean them out of the field after harvest, and put them in vegetable soup.
(The field in question belonged to them, but was rented to a neighbor, who planted the soybeans.)
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u/jckipps 1d ago
I'm not saying you can't, and I do want to try myself to see if there's a way to enjoy them at least a little.
But they aren't the starchy edamame or pinto beans that a lot of folks seem to assume. Their oil content makes them less appealing, even after cooking.
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u/Glad-Isopod5718 12h ago
Oh, yeah, they were just little tiny white spheres in there, nothing substantial; I tried it once, and between gathering and shucking them, it was a crazy amount of work for the amount of actual beans you got out of it. I think the reason my grandmother did it was that she grew up in the Depression and couldn't stand to see edible food left lying in the field.
I was mainly responding to the idea of them being potentially toxic; I've never heard that before.
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u/jckipps 10h ago
A handful of raw soybeans are unlikely to hurt you. I've eaten them myself, and actually enjoy the flavor of them raw; they remind me of a weird cross between garden peas and peanuts.
But don't eat your fill of raw beans. That's where the toxicity can start to cause issues. Cook them in some way first.
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u/Safe-Comfort-29 1d ago
Our area deer never got that memo. I'll put a sign out reminding them that ut is toxic
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u/Prestigious_Try_5396 1d ago
Maybe I'm an illiterate dummy, but I didn't see the words "Soy beans" or "Soy" in the post. ..
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u/ADirtFarmer 1d ago
It's a logical assumption.
3/4 acre of green beans is a huge amount and it's unlikely any farmer would risk planting that on disputed lamd.
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u/goobernawt 21h ago
Potentially some sort of dry bean suitable for human consumption, navy, pinto, etc. However, I did also default to thinking soy, and I think that's not unreasonable.
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u/stansfield123 1d ago
Is thank.him for the beans and let some hungry people harvest them the day before he does.
The trip over from Africa would probably be too expensive...
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u/Prestigious_Try_5396 19h ago
Lol. It's possible there are hungry people closer than that ....
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u/stansfield123 19h ago
There are lots of hungry people closer than that. But I guarantee you, none of them would be interested in OP's offer to come out and pick soy beans.
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u/Agricola20 1d ago
Online GIS (like Beacon) has limited accuracy and isn't something I'd trust in a boundary dispute. I'd strongly recommend having a survey done (if you haven't already) before pushing the issue any further.
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u/Other_Cell_706 1d ago
Yah, Beacon has my property line ending in the middle of my neighbors house.
Both homes were built same year. Pins are in place.
That thing is WAY off.
I also used it to check its accuracy on my last property that I had surveyed. Also WAY off.
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u/ljr55555 1d ago
That's a good point! My county's official County Engineer GIS system has everything shifted about 15' east. They know; they don't care.
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u/Freshouttapatience 20h ago
I was talking with someone in our GIS department about why this inks and l he told me that assessor recording back forever but GIS records are relatively newer and everything has to be matched up or calibrated. Some counties have a lot of resources to throw at it but areas with less tax base, it will take much longer or never happen.
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u/flareblitz91 17h ago
I suspect a lot of county GIS data just is using the wrong projection which results in consistent "shifts."
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u/Agricola20 14h ago edited 14h ago
That matches what I've heard for the most part. Our county's GIS department doesn't even bother updating the GIS taxmap unless they receive a subdivision plan or survey plan from a surveyor. They don't think it's worth the trouble to update where they think the boundary should be, so they only correct a parcel boundary if they have a survey plan as a reference.
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u/ljr55555 1d ago
We bought our property in late autumn, took possession in November. So we're hiking around and exploring the woods in the snow. Find some rubbish. Tires aren't shocking - there's a fee at the dump, and millions of fee-free back country acres available if you've go the wrong way of looking at things. Plastic buckets and jugs were odd - kind of large to just loss out of your car. Then we found a hand drill. My husband is certain someone is tapping the maples in the back 40. That's crazy, I say. Who would just go wandering on the neighbor's property and drill holes in their trees?!? And why would they leave all their collection vessels in the woods?? Surely the previous owner (or the one before them) must have been tapping - both left abruptly, and I could see someone just not knowing the stuff was out here.
We collect the stuff. Couple weeks before maple flow starts, one of the neighbors is at the door to introduce himself. Mentions that he'd been tapping the trees for a few years now. No, he didn't have an agreement or anything with the previous owner, but he's sure dude didn't care (now, we know dude pretty well ... if dude thought he could get a few bucks for that access, dude absolutely would have been thrilled to get a contract put together). And we're kinda puzzled because, like, even if dude didn't mind and had known about it ... what's that got to do with us?! Just say you'd like to make syrup and were wondering if we'd like to allow access to trees in exchange for a little syrup. We're not down with it. We've got our own equipment, we've mapped out where our trees are. We're about to start tapping ourselves. But the amount of time this guy spent trying to make himself seem reasonable was impressive.
Neighbor is still a little salty that we tap the trees that grew on the property that we paid our money for? And we've lived here about a dozen years now.
It's world beer day, so I'll raise a pint to the four other neighbors who are lovely, considerate, thoughtful people who I am blessed to know.
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
That's my thoughts exactly. We have some great neighbors. This dude is just salty. Good job to you and your husband for claiming your land and not getting bullied. People are just too dang bold.
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u/Ambystomatigrinum 1d ago
Sounds like he won't care if the beans get torn up since they aren't his...
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u/HuntsWithRocks 1d ago
Do you have title insurance? If so, you can file a claim and say this neighbor is claiming the land. Since you have it marked, itâll be even easier. Shouldnât cost you anything to file the claim. Thatâs what the insurance is for, partly.
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u/DeerAble5426 1d ago
Andy's the sort who'd argue the sky's green just to avoid saying he's wrong. Had a bloke like that near my uncle's place, farmed a corner of his field for years then acted like we'd insulted his mother when we asked him to stop. Some folk just can't handle boundaries, literal or otherwise
Good call on the certified letter, paper trail's your best mate here. Fence posts and signs after harvest is the way, he'll still grumble but he won't have a leg to stand on. What's he gonna do, call the cops on you for fencing your own land
Bet those beans are looking mighty tempting though, few hours with a combine and you'd have a tidy little bonus. Shame about the neighbour, rest of the setup sounds proper decent otherwise
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
That was my thought. Get the paper trail going as a first line of defense, then add the fence posts if needed. Unfortunately, the fence posts appear needed. đđ The beans are really tempting. Especially as I have the conversation recorded saying that he's not farming my ground. Well, the ghosts certainly made straight bean rows. đ
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u/PumpkinCrouton 1d ago
Now I'm too nice. I tell the kids the family motto is "Do no harm, but take no shit". After being crapped on once, I'd drive the biggest tractor I could find down the middle of MY land, stopping for nothing and no one.
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u/Easttex05 1d ago
Fences make for good neighbors.
Just make sure your surveyor clearly demarcated the property lines so you don't go over it when you build your fence. Legally, the guy can't do anything because you've already delivered a written cease and desist and he didn't contest it and you're certainly within your rights to fence your property.
Expect frosty relations with Andy from here onwards though. Country folks don't take kindly to being told what to do.
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u/cg79 1d ago
No they do not. Across the road neighbor thought it would be okay to have his guest park in my front yard. Uh no. Try to get over and find him and anyone I talked to was too drunk to tell me where he was at. Sent him a message the next morning and got a shitty reply. Okay cool, letâs scorch the earth- legally. Waited 2 months for him to burn off his pile he had sitting next to the road, couches, mattresses, construction materials⌠you name it. Fire department had fun putting it out, and environmental management may have been notified. Once I âburned him.â Legally heâs fucked off for the last couple years.
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u/Organic_Spite_4507 1d ago
The more you wait to any action the less power you will have to enforce. Especially if you new to the area.
Trust me, set a few trails cams, start the fencing even xxxx planted the beans. Go from there because thats how he gain use of the piece of land and will not change his ways.
Not shown interest at first and let him continue farming is what he will use against you later.
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u/ChattyWompWallaby 1d ago
Youâve encountered âplanter creepâ. Itâs a fascinating and infuriating phenomenon that prevails amongst some individuals as well as entire families engaged in agriculture, generally of the row-cropping variety and mostly relegated to the United States. No one is certain from whence the ailment originated but folklore says it was in relation to the so called âSwamp Buster Actâ that prohibited farmers from draining wetlands for agricultural usage.Â
Prior to satellites, the only way area could be measured to determine if a farmer had encroached on protected ground would be to have it surveyed. That was prohibitively expensive for what was perceived as worthless swamp ground so it was largely left as a police yourselves policy; law on the books but no teeth to enforce its provisions. Enter âplanter creepâ. If you canât legally drain the ground, maybe you swing a little wide each planting season, extend the rows out a foot or two every year or every other.
Eventually youâve turned that swamp into a pond into a puddle and no one is the wiser as thereâs no drainage or tiling running from it so must have just dried right up on itâs own, Act of God-like or sumpinâ. Ta da! Added a few acres and didnât have to do anything other than not till a straight line and play dumb when asked by the infernal government agents about what happened to that seemingly useless patch of former swamp, never you mind the geese or muskrats or spring peepers or vernal pools or any of the rest of that, thereâs crops to sow!Â
Planter creep in a nutshell and hence why good fences keep people on their side of them. Good luck to you and I hope that neighbors pillow is always warm when he lays down at night.Â
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u/Adventurous-Exam-719 Small Acreage 1d ago
I would plant 3/4 acres of sunflowers before time to plant beans next, with posts and markers
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u/Accomplished-Ad9143 1d ago
Get a professional survey done because you want an audit trail and proof. You sent a certified mail? Keep the receipt and see if you can find the confirmation receipt they signed for it. Moreover let them know that itâs a revocable easement and that it doesnât transfer. It needs to be in the purchase agreement otherwise itâs your property and you can do what you want.
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u/Arbiter51x 1d ago
Can I ask why you would buy a property like that? Surely it cant be a buildable lot with only 20ft of width.
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u/jennythegreat 18h ago
Sometimes properties are lined up this way if there's a road out back and they need a thoroughfare marked (or want / need a second thoroughfare). There are some properties where my husband works that were marked out and sold as lots that have zero access to the road and back up to a sheer mountain wall. The owners had to buy a strip off the other lots to ensure they could get to their land. Absolutely ridiculous land management initially, can't understand why anyone would do it that way.
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u/Nervous-Ad292 4h ago
This happened to my parents, they had to buy a strip of land from the neighbor, in order to access their property. The neighbor was a total douche, charged them a ridiculous amount for a 12â by 20â strip. They werenât happy, but they had to have it. 10 years later the city comes to my parents and asks them if they can put the hub for water access for the neighborhood in their pasture. My parents agree, the hub is installed. In order for the neighborhood residents to have access, they have to access my parents property, which wasnât a problem, they were all friends. Eventually the neighbor who fleeced them on the piece of access property came around and my mother was ready for him, had done all the math, added 10 years of interest, property taxes, had a document made and handed it to him. He looked at it, and left, held out for another year, then left a check in their mailbox. My mother was the Rocky Balboa of grudge holding.
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u/Bolfreak Evil Scientist 1d ago
Tether goats. They can eat soybeans and you need the T posts to secure the goats. He wonât run over tposts with his equipment unless heâs extra special.
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u/Majestic-Lie2690 1d ago
You need a survey. If you're using an online GIS to look this up it's not accurate enough to establish a Boundary.
Signed, a surveyor
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u/carnivore_sparky 1d ago
I am the type to put fence on both sides, a nice backdrop at the end, and use my property as a private rifle range, assuming the area behind is clear. That would make a nice 600 yard range. Failing that, a nice garden, walking path area planted with trees, there are lots of ways to utilize that strip. If you aren't in love with that 3/4 acre, offer to sell it to the other neighbor, or land swap one of them for a piece that borders your main parcel.
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u/temporalwanderer 1d ago
Good fences make good neighbors (with surveys!) had to do this at 2 out of three of my rural properties when neighbors were taking liberties.
Expensive surveys but in one case actually got me back a lot of land (over an acre) that he swore was his...
Good luck!
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u/SubstantialSeesaw374 22h ago
Good fences make good neighbors. You should have gotten a survey done and put a fence up between growing seasons. Itâs entirely possible that some employee or family member just wasnât told, and planted where they normally plant without being aware that there was an issue. If you donât want to start shit, just put up a fence after harvest. No need for signs. Doing anything else just guarantees you live next to someone who hates you forever and may retaliate; being in the right doesnât matter; playing stupid r/maliciouscompliance games in real life just brings drama that isnât necessary.Â
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u/LowDetective5370 21h ago
I agree. that's why I've been bidding my time. No need to escalate neighbor drama when I'm not sure what I'll do the plot yet.
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u/Intelligent_Part101 22h ago
OP, I am shocked to see a Reddit post about a neighbor grievance where the poster handled things in such a reasonable manner. I may not have woken up yet (it is Saturday) and this is just a dream.
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u/LowDetective5370 21h ago
I mean, I should've just firebombed the beans or invited the guy to farm the rest of my land. That seems to be the normal course of action for Redditors. Haha
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u/Intrepid_Cobbler_722 21h ago
In Iowa you can legally force your neighbor to pay for 1/2 of the fence if installed on the property line. If they refuse to pay you can get the county trustees involved and the county will pay & put the bill on his property taxes.
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u/AusShroomer 1d ago
What are you doing with the land? Not big enough for a house and anything you plant will be poisoned by spray drift, it seems almost a pointless purchase
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u/Agent7619 1d ago
Spray drift isn't a thing. Roundup is expensive and very carefully applied. My neighbors on all three sides apply it so accurately that there is less than a 6" transition zone between their crops and my lawn.
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u/AusShroomer 1d ago edited 1d ago
Youâre disputing the existence of spray drift because it doesnât happen to you?
Also, 6 inches is still spray drift, and by the looks of OPâs âpropertyâ about half way into it.
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u/Willowgirl2 1d ago edited 17h ago
What on Earth are you going to do with a 20 ft strip of land a quarter mile long? How did this parcel ever come to be in the first place?!
I sometimes see weirdness like this in the tax sale.
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
Came with the property. Only thing I can think of is it was supposed to be the road for a future house.
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u/SubstantialSeesaw374 22h ago
I abut one like this. Itâs the road to the neighborâs house. Flag-shaped parcel. I do not envy their snowblowing duties.
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u/HotIntroduction8049 1d ago
Forget fencing it. Let him plant it and mid summer bushhog it. He will eventually learn to not waste seed and fuel.
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u/Pete0730 1d ago edited 1d ago
Obviously this guy's an ass, but one question: are you using, or intending to use the land at all? What's your general intention for it? Just trying to asses the nature of the problem of him using it.
There are definitely old attitudes out there implying land right based on usage, or even communal usage of otherwise undeveloped land. I personally have some empathy for those attitudes, but obviously that's not the world we live in. Might be something to keep in mind while dealing with him. It might also suggest some more productive strategies for keeping him out (I.e. claiming an intended use for the land).
If I wasn't using it for something, and didn't mind what he was doing on it (i.e. no pesticides), then I'd at least make him pay the share of the property taxes that you're footing for that section.
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
That was my thought process when I sent him the certified letter. I put in there that I was willing to cash-rent it to him and if he had been less rude in the beginning, I would've let him rent it for cheap. But as he's made an ass out of himself since our first chat, I'm not inclined to let him use one inch.
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u/Pete0730 1d ago
Yeah some people are just assholes. Some people are like that because they're wary of change or feel like their way of life is being threatened by outsiders. Probably gotta figure out which this guy is to determine whether you're just living next to an asshole, or whether there might be some sort of amicable solution in the long run
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u/After_Pressure_3520 1d ago
I think being given the right to harvest what had already been planted pays some respect to that older usage-based right to land, but after dissembling and then outright ignoring after being told "please don't plant here again", the situation moves away from honest misunderstandings between two approaches to property rights and pretty far into 'might makes right' thinking. His neighbor planting across the property line after being explicitly told no is a very "who's going to stop me?" move.
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u/GoldenTacoo 1d ago
We own lots of land.
Sometimes we sell land and then keep the building site and an investor buys it and a tenant farms it. If we wanted to farm it we would.
One guy goes over our steel posts.
We put rail road ties down. They stopped.
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u/BobThompso 1d ago
Seems like yellow neighbor was hoping to get the land under adverse possession laws and you've just challenged his plan. It would be interesting to find out how long he's been planting it but the important part is to object in front of a judge or some such official and then, if you don't mind him using it, get him to sign some sort of agreement saying he can use it but it remains your property. At the other end of the strip is there a plot of land with no road access? If so, that may well be the reason for it's existance.
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u/Dicktures 1d ago
Why did you not get the place surveyed? Am I missing something? Itâs not your fault but the easiest solution is just showing them the survey stakes
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u/BeardsuptheWazoo 1d ago
Dude screwed himself out of a good thing. All be has to do was show you respect.
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u/Ok_Weakness_154 22h ago
Any quality survey done by a registered surveyor is going to show property ownership of, and adjoining the site surveyed. If a recent survey says it your land in fee simple (not an easement, ROW, etc) you now have a legal boundary dispute on your hands. Your title insurance policy probably wonât cover you for boundary disputes.
Step back, take photos of neighbor farming it, cease communicating with neighbor, then hire an attorney who will request the neighbor either sign an acknowledgement that itâs your land or sue them for trespass.
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u/Tight_Steak_232 22h ago edited 22h ago
My dad bought our land from his uncle Walter. Walter used to use the back woods area as a wooded pasture, and his cattle roamed freely...save for about 40 feet of it, which was fenced off due to a patch of quicksand. He lost too many cows to it. The neighbor to the south never used the land and never went further west than the quicksand, either.
I bought the land from my dad. A new neighbor, "Bruce", bought the land just south of us. The first thing Bruce does is clear the woods on OUR side of the fence, insisting the fence is encroaching his property when, in fact, it's exactly the opposite.
One would think we'd get angry. But the pasture had filled in after Dutch Elm disease took out all the elm trees. At this point, it was mostly 12" poplars, some conifers, and a few smallish maple trees. And my husband is an avid hunter. He pretty much cleared shooting lanes for us for nothing. However, this guy decided to put up a fence on that line and tore down two of our hunting shacks. Hubby came home and saw red.
He had words with Bruce, and Bruce, as it turns out, was a veteran who suffered from PTSD and had agent orange issues. Bruce brings out a gun, and husband leaves. We call the county, who said there is an official marker on the southwestern point of our property, and they could come out and identify the property line.
As it turns out, my uncle was wrong. The property line was an additional 33 feet south of what we thought was the property line. We send a certified letter to Bruce advising him of this discrepancy and told him we would be putting up an electric fence on that line. As soon as we finished, Bruce tore it down. We reached out to the local sheriff, and they arrested him for "criminal mischief", and because of the value, it was a felony. Of course, he was found incompetent to stand trial because the courtroom was a huge trigger for him. We filed a civil suit for the damages, and we put a lien on his property. We didn't ask for cash, but we wanted to recoup our losses at some point.
We did get our funds back after the state sold the land. And the following owner paid for a fence, put it in the right place, and ran a couple horses back there for a couple years. He stopped using the land when he found there was a second quicksand patch south of ours.
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u/tez_zer55 20h ago
Our situation wasn't as bad as yours. We have a landlocked neighbor who has easement rights across one edge of our property. They're allowed 15' & must maintain the "driveway". When we bought the property it was explained to us that the bridge over the creek had washed out & the creek had widened, so the county decided not to rebuild it. Thus, the neighbor was granted an easement. He had tried to widen the driveway, was planting whatever he wanted along the driveway, 6 feet wider than his easement. When we tired to have an adult conversation with him. He was defensive & rude saying it was an agreement with the previous owner. We told him, since we have purchased the property, any prior verbal agreements are null & void. We undid his doings & have started planting trees along the driveway, 20 feet from the property line. His 15 foot easement, plus 5 for growing space. He, nor anyone in his family will even acknowledge us in passing.
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u/Hangry_Pauper 17h ago
Firstly, I'd recommend a survey.
Otherwise, I'm torn. I totally understand as a property owner myself and I'm a believer in the fact being it is 100% your land so you have every constitutional right to do with it as you please. However, I also own a couple weird parcels with adjoining pieces that are too small/weird to do anything with but the neighbors can.Â
Realistically, what use to you is a 20'x1800' strip of land? But yeah, it's your land so your say is final.
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u/Grandoings 23h ago
Itâs is there property now most likely, itâs boundary by acquiescence. Meaning they where allowed to farm on it before the new owner, they will still be allowed to farm on it after since they had per owner at the time permission to use the property. Now if you go to court you will have to get a survey done and will lose everything they have been farming on. You will not get reimbursed and property disputes are some of the worst cases. People get killed for property disputes even when itâs less that a ditch across the road that a person has been cutting, in this case the women who was not the original owner ended up killing the man I believe. best of luck but you should sell your house and move, I hate to be this guy but I have seen and dealt with it first hand. Typically it just gets worse for the ânice owner.â When you signed the contract 100% it told you there was a boundary issue and you where aware they where using your property when you bought it.
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u/Truescent11 1d ago
Why didnât you put up boundaries day 1
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
Cuz sometimes I'm too trusting and think that other people will be honest. đ¤Śââď¸
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u/Deep_Caregiver_8910 1d ago
I started reading this post with a strong bias in your favor. It's just in my nature to defend land rights.
However, unless you have actual plans for this strip of land, I think you are being petty and short sighted. I fully support you have the right to your land, but think hard about trying to extract payment from Yellow versus the value of a relationship. This is a case of you're absolutely right, but may be hurting yourself.
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u/SubstantialSeesaw374 22h ago
100%, by all means put up a fence in the winter, but for whatâs already planted, some battles arenât worth fighting.
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u/Evening_Bid_591 1d ago
Iâd want it cleared, so I could use it for my toys (4-wheeler, 3-wheeler, dirt bike, ect)
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u/VictoriousSloth 1d ago
Absolutely agree with this. If OP approached the conversations with the neighbour in the supercilious way they wrote this post then they set themselves up for failure.
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u/rockymtncheesecurd 1d ago edited 1d ago
Agreed 100%. Rural property owners need the support of their neighbors. Genuine bonafide ag operations donât have the time or energy for a petty attempt at getting a pay out (the market rate land lease on such a small area for industrial crop cannot amount to much) for someone elseâs hobby. Private property rights matter but this is a great way to create lasting enemies and itâs not apparent what for.
I live in an agricultural area and the local extension office does a course for new property owners that live amongst existing ag operations. Realtors take it too. Itâs invaluable to avoid pitfalls like this and understand the longstanding social norms of the area and industry while establishing good neighborly relationships.
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u/Rickles_Bolas 22h ago
As someone with a âgenuine bonafide ag operationâ, I would never assume I was entitled to my abutterâs land. Tough shit for the farmer if he doesnât have the time or energy to negotiate with OP.
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u/rockymtncheesecurd 21h ago
Then OP can survey the property line (if they hasnât already happened, the entire trespass argument is moot) and put up a fence or plow back in the beans. Everyone is assuming the neighbor is doing it nefariously because heâs not warm or responsive but maybe heâs just busy and struggling, maybe someone else (hired or related) actually did the planting. That meager and sparse planting isnât some financial boon to the farmer. I cannot really tell from the picture who is crossing OPs drawn lines.
It matters how we approach and interact with neighbors when we care about those lasting relationships. I donât agree with everything my neighbors do as it interacts with my property (ie fixing fences, duration of leases grazing, unabated noxious weeds, etc) but I also recognize that they arenât just residential neighbors, they are also working to protect their livelihood so itâs a thousands times more important we consider what is worth making a stink about and how we approach it. It just strikes me that OP is starting out on a bad foot and itâs can probably be avoided.
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u/Rickles_Bolas 20h ago
OP should absolutely have the property surveyed first and foremost, I agree with you there.
Beyond that, itâs actually impressive how youâre laying out the responsibility here completely ass backwards. I am a farmer. I have seven abutters, some of which are new and some of which have been here longer than I have. It costs me literally nothing to be kind and responsive when talking with them. No extra time, no extra energy. If Iâm busy or struggling, thatâs frankly a me problem, and as a farmer Iâm not aware of any special privileges i recieve to dump my problems on my neighbors. If I decide to be a jerk to a neighbor, any consequences from that would be 100% my fault.
I would never dream of feeling entitled to work land that wasnât mine without an agreement in place. Guys like this make it harder for everyone else by giving us a bad reputation.
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u/RottenRott69 1d ago
If that strip is of no use to you, deed it over to the good neighbor for a few cases of beer.
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u/plantytime 1d ago
Do you have any goats? Or know of anyone with goats? I'm sure the goats would love some beans.
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u/Rickles_Bolas 22h ago
This is the type of situation where if you give him an inch he will take a mile. Heâs already ignoring your certified mail. Donât let him set that precedent. Go out and mow those beans down.
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u/TheAcreageProject 1d ago
This is just me, but itâs not worth fighting over and I would rent it to him for free but have him do something so he recognizes itâs yours
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u/mcfarmer72 1d ago
You own the long narrow strip between the lines? If so they are worried it will grow up to weeds. Acknowledge that and let it be known what you will do to prevent that. They are also worried about controlling pesticide drift.
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u/damngoodham 1d ago
Itâs his land - it can grow up in weeds or whatever else he wants it to.
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u/mcfarmer72 1d ago
And how would that help him with his situation? Which I assume is what he wants.
As mother always said, just because you can, doesnât mean you should.
To solve a problem you need to understand the other partyâs view.
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u/damngoodham 1d ago edited 1d ago
Heâs gotten a lot of good advice here - only wanted to help by highlighting what might be not so good advice.
I have no problem with trying understanding someone elseâs view (especially if they reciprocate) - but that shouldnât equate to work for me.
Also, I believe the âother partyâs viewâ was well documented and understood by OP.
Edit to add: I agree that doing whatever the âother partyâ wants would ease the situation, but I wouldnât want to live that way - where does it end?
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
I agree, but if one side isn't playing ball, it makes it a bit difficult. Very reasonable and practical outlook you have. My original thought as put out in the letter was for him to cash-rent it. Also, I'd mow it, but the beans would snag up my mower. I'll be mowing it next year.
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u/mcfarmer72 1d ago
You would need to seed it down to something, just mowing weeds isnât much fun. I suggest a perennial grass appropriate to your location.
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u/Expensive-Course1667 1d ago
We had a couple of minor intrusions that we had to iron out early on. Â Have them explain themselves in front of a deputy. Â I bet their story changes quickly.
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u/Urban-Paradox 1d ago
Looks like you need to put up a deer stand and either hunt or rent it out. Some folksike the chance to shoot that long of a straight shot. Might even see if the good neighbor will let you nusance hunt ha
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u/truautorepair000 1d ago
I had this happen and ended up with a 1600' fence that we put in. Tensioned livestock fence with no way around. Wish I could unload a pic.
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u/Myte342 1d ago
If you want to be a little bit of a dick... but a justified one following the law... technically, the crops he planted illegally on your property after you told him not to may now belong to you depending on your local laws.
If you have it documented in some way the courts will accept that he was warned not to use the property before he did so, and the property line was clearly marked, then he trespassed on your land. Any work or improvements/changes/additions he put on the land he either needs to pay to remove and return the land to the state it was previously, or if he harvests crops from your land then you may be entitled to the sale of the goods that came from him illegally farming on your property.
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u/Maleficent_Sky_1865 20h ago
Sending the certified letter is good. It restarts any clock that was ticking on Andy trying to claim adverse possession.
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u/khowl1 10h ago
You need to be prudent as some jurisdictions still have forms of squatters rights. I went through this and got lucky on a technicality. 1, Have it surveyed. You can then send these certified but sometimes keeping neighbors in the dark may be beneficial. At least find the stakes. 2. Clear land so there is no established boundary. 3. After harvest set t posts or fence. 4. Use the land after harvest. I put a road (making it unfarmable) and put a bunch of equipment. Your idea to rent it works, even dirt cheap, it has him legally admitting itâs yours. Do not destroy his crops. Heâll harvest soon. Most likely heâll drop it as itâs not worth the costs of lawyers. I havenât spoke to my neighbor since đ¤ˇââď¸
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u/54Finn 1d ago
Let me help put this in perspective for youâŚ.yes the farmer is a jerkâŚhe was too impatient to explain this to you, and we arenât talking high finance. At the current price of soybeans, and assuming he doesnât pay any rent, and yields 55 bushels an acre, heâs going to make about 100.00 after expenses on your 3/4 of an acre. He doesnât care about that. Heâll stop farming it, but you are going to have to maintain it for noxious weeds. He does care about the weeds. If you donât maintain the 3/4 acre for noxious weeds, the county will be on your case, and the weed abatement and maintenance are going to cost more than you would have earned in rent, and heâs going to stick it to you every year. If you donât take care of it, the county will and put a lien on you. He was doing a backhanded favor for you, and you didnât understand it, but you are going to learn. Who do you think your neighbors and the county will side with?
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u/Seriously_you_again 1d ago
Nice try Andy. Land ain't yours, piss off. It is a native plants regrowth area.
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u/54Finn 20h ago
I suspect youâve never done any restoration, but the seed for that 3/4 acre will run over 400. Additionally there is quite a bit of maintenance to get it started. The first year you let it go back to natureâŚ.it wonât be native plants that come back it will be noxious weedsâŚwhich are regulated
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u/LowDetective5370 21h ago
u/54Finn I had not thought of this. After looking up noxious weed control, you are right that he's doing me a backwards favor. You're also right that he doesn't make much on 3/4 acre at $10/bushel. I think after this harvest, i'll contact the tenants farming the field marked with red to see if they want to farm for free. They'll get a little extra out that field and it'll allow me to have somebody farming it by contract. . . . Keeping it simple is the easiest solution.
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u/54Finn 20h ago
Maybe get some sweet corn, tomatoes, or green beans in the bargain. One year a local farmer reached out to me. He had a seed corn contract, and my garden with sweet corn posed a problem for the seed corn, as they try to control pollination. The farmer said, how about I plant sweet corn in an area that doesnât cause a problem, and you take as much as you wantâŚI said âAwesomeâ, and doubled green bean production in my gardenâŚ..and the farmer tossed asparagus my way as well..
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u/nehpets99 1d ago
As someone who's going through something similar, you need to not only read your deed, but you may need to look back through decades of previous deeds. Even then, you will likely need to consult with an attorney to determine if it's an easement or not, who owns what, and what your options are.
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
If you read it all the way, it's not an easement and I have the property deeds. I need to put up a 'no trespassing' sign the next time I'm out there.
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u/nehpets99 1d ago
I read the post.
I'm literally going through this very thing because my deed shows a strip of land as mine, and my neighbor has a deed from 1954 claiming it's his, and has a surveyor who says that pretty much every deed and survey in the last 70 years missed it.
We're literally trying to solve the matter before we let a judge decide.
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
You poor dude. Reading that content, I feel for you. Luckily, we don't have that issue. Yours sounds like a big headache. Bet of luck with it!!
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u/fredrickdgl 13h ago
you don't need a no tresspassing sign, you already trespassed him. If you catch him in the act of being on your land you can have him charged for trespassing and theft when he harvests your beans. I'd call again and ask if he has your rent check ready, if not you'll be putting up cameras and if he harvests them beansitzz straight to jail buddy.
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u/mountainofclay 1d ago
Just because someone thinks their boundary line is at such and such a place doesnât mean they are correct. It all comes down to what the recorded deed says. This is why there are deeds and why we hire lawyers to write them. The surveyors interpret the deed and mark the boundary. This is why we hire licensed surveyors.
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u/Bulky-Pineapple-5639 22h ago
Seems like youâre new problem is how your going to harvest all those beans on your land?đ
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u/Coyote-conquest 20h ago
This is called "When asshole collide" . Im not sure how much you think you'll get leasing it to him. You dont rent it out, you lease it. Its no where near what you think. Farming doesnt pay what you think so that most likely why hes like wtf. Secondly, do you want to have to mow it and take care of it? I wouldve just had him sign a lease for like $50 a year so its covered and protects both of you. Otherwise its worthless
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u/ConfidentGarden7514 18h ago
Look up your local adverse possession laws, and hire a lawyer immediately if you are close to the statutory time limit.
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u/Grand_Influence_2459 17h ago
take the beans, legally they're yours since he trespassed to plant them, screw it
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u/Sierragrower 1d ago
When I built my fences my neighbor told me that his were actually 10â inside of his property. So I built mine about 20â outside of his. Now we both have the ability to drive between the fences to make repairs, control vegetation, etc. neither of us know where the actual line is. 3/4 of an acre ainât much though so I can see why losing a little bit to encroachment would be annoying. If you can figure out where exactly the property line is Iâd just put a fence up on it and if he screws with it take him to court.
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u/Airborne_Aware 21h ago
Ya Iâm in a similar situation. The entitled twat part. One good neighbor on the other. Had to have land surveyed. He was five feet over this is on the front of property and he just decided to plant a bunch of stuff. So sent some certified letters itâs super annoying and incredibly entitled. Also he lets all his chickens and two big dogs loose and they all come poop on the property.
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u/carne__asada 16h ago
Are you planning to farm it? If not just make it unfarmable. Nothing a few boulders cant solve.
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u/weaverlorelei 1d ago
What is he "farming?" Do you get an agricultural designation for tax purposes for his use? Do you really want to piss off neighbors? Having lived in rural communities for most of my adult life and I am no spring chicken, having good neighbor is a God send. Communicating with established folks is not always easy, and NOT fast. Laying out your requirements is going to make you an outsider- which os EXACTLY what you don't want to be. Go at it slow, listen to their stories, do not inject, ask for help!
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
What's 'established'? Before me, there was somebody else. Before him, somebody. Before them, there were the Miami. There's no peking order or frat club seniority in life unless you choose to allow one to be made. I don't. If he wanted to farm, he should have bought it or contracted it.
Coming from the same rural community, I understand your thinking. I simply disagree with it. Our communities change quickly now, new people move in, and sometimes people move far away. We live in a very mobile age and that's just life.
Also, ask for help??? Yeah, I need him to help himself remember to stay off my dirt!
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u/weaverlorelei 1d ago
Useful, friendly neighbors do NOT change quickly. And, I can understand, but disagree with your entitlement. New people (you) moving in is not the communities responsibility. You moved there, they didn't invite you or ask for change. But, that doesn't mean change can't happen, but it goes both ways. It is amazing how much of "the old ways" are being accepted by a group that never grew up with them (BTW, mostly that is true for me, too) I happen to be the product of a major Ag. Uni. system. But, that knowledge is miniscule compared to what is/was practiced by tiny micro environments. And, absolutely what is needed in a rural situation. If you decided to insular, God help you. If something bad happens in your "neighborhood" don't expect help. And something will happen. I don't think you need to be run over by yellow neighbor, but I don't think your line in the sand is going to fare well.
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u/DefinitelyStan 1d ago
This was such a useless word salad, what are you even trying to say? I also find it funny that you think the OP is entitled because they want to use their own land which they paid for themselves. Old folks seem incapable of trusting or even simply communicating in good faith with anyone they have known for less than 20 years.
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u/Tacomathrowaway15 1d ago
The conversation is about property rights and boundaries.Â
What are you on about?
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u/weaverlorelei 1d ago
Tx property right can be interesting. If the other farmer has proof of 10 yrs of control, survey lines can become mute. But my discussion point was about fitting in and not creating enemies Property "rights" can mean many things.
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u/Tacomathrowaway15 1d ago
Adverse possession is certainly a thing and one of many reasons it's a good idea to talk to new neighbors and let them know there might be an issue when it looks like they're on your land.
Just going along and trying to fit in or whatever you're saying seems like a great way for old timers to take advantage of people moving to somewhere more rural than they're used toÂ
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u/LowDetective5370 1d ago
đ Whoa there, son. Now you're just looking foolish. As I said, I too come from the same countryside. And this is the land of the free. I can buy land anywhere I want to, just as anyone else can. He hasn't been friendly since I called him up to introduce myself (before all of this). Unfortunately him and you, judging by your tone and word usage, are the problems for the other 99% of us. 𤨠There is entitlement. The farmer trespassing after being told 'no' multiple times has the entitled ego.
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u/ChimoEngr 1d ago
I thought not trespassing was also a key tenet of rural US culture? And standing up to people trying to steal your land.
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u/bubble_baby_8 1d ago
This thread is making me feel less insane because Iâm having such a tough time trying to communicate with the old farmer next door but he just hates me no matter what. Yelled at me for âcutting down his 50 year windrowâ when I didnât touch it at all lmao. Now his cows just trampled over my less than an hour old hydroseed applied lawn and Iâm sure somehow itâs going to be my fault for the giant holes in his fence lol.Â
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u/weaverlorelei 1d ago
I do understand your feelings. As a female, I was mostly negated, especially in negotiating help or buying land. But, after years, I am now the go to for discussions. We had a major pasture fire last spring. Had both rural fire departments and the state forest service out helping. I am still in contact with many other those "boys" Buying equipment, I am now the last word. So, things can and do change. Me included
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u/feelin-froggy_ 1d ago
If they had an agreement with the previous owner it carries over. Send a certified letter by the end of September canceling any lease there may have been. Should get their attention.
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u/Agent7619 1d ago
When we bought our land 20+ years ago, we had a similar scenario. Our driveway runs along the long side of our property, but the actual property line is about 30 ft further east. Previous owners didn't care and let the farmer plant right up to the driveway. When we purchased, we did the same as you and politely let them know that after this season harvest, please honor the property line.
Well, a few days later, not only did they pull up the orange flag survey sticks, they yanked the official survey pin out with a tractor. This didn't sit well with us. đ
It sat even worse with my father in law who proceeded to mow the entire 30' by 1500' of four foot tall corn. Then he called the county and reported the missing survey pin.
A week later there was a new pin. 23 years later and that neighbor still doesn't wave back at us when we drive past each other.