Lease Guidelines February 2018 A. Definitions 1. "Account in acceptable status": having all Ministry accounts current and having accounts with ACS and Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) in a status which is acceptable to the respective agency. 2. "Actively manage": to be actively involved in the operation of a farm or ranch and to make all management decisions relating to its operation. 3. "Agricultural corporation": a corporation that is engaged in the business of farming whose members are a Canadian citizen or resident person. 4. "Ascending family member": includes parent, or grand parent, and includes any agricultural corporation of which the majority of issued voting shares are legally or beneficially owned by any or all of them and any co-operative that is owned by any or all of them. 5. "Deeded land associated with the lease": includes all deeded land adjoining and operated with the lease. 6. "Descending family member": includes spouse, son, daughter, grandchild or spouse thereof, and includes any agricultural corporation of which the majority of issued voting shares are legally or beneficially owned by any or all of them and any co-operative that is owned by any or all of them. 7. "Distant family member": includes brother, sister, nephew, niece or spouse thereof, and includes any agricultural corporation of which the majority of issued voting shares are legally or beneficially owned by any or all of them and any co-operative that is owned by any or all of them. 8. "Farm unit": any and all individuals who farm out of the same headquarters and have joint ownership or control of land. 9. "Headquarters": a building where a farm unit is managed from as evidenced by: storage of farm records; telephone used for the farm business; electrical service; location where farm business papers are prepared; or other evidence as determined by the Ministry. 10. "Home quarter": the quarter where the applicant resides. 11. "Designated home quarter": where the grain storage or livestock handling facilities are located. 12. "Principal operator": the individual who controls the major interest in a farm unit, as evidenced by receiving the most farm income. 13. "Spouse": includes common-law spouse where the couple has co-habited for no less than one year.
B. Allocation Scoring 1. Each application for new lease on agricultural Crown land will be scored as follows: Distance: 5 points (plus Rurual Municipality RM score) o All distance is calculated by road or road allowance with practical access from the average of the home quarter and the applicants nearest land. o The distance used in calculating proximity to the home quarter will be the average of the home quarter and the designated home quarter. This is used when the residence is in a different location than the facilities. The applicant can only "designate" one quarter as the home quarter when the applicant is applying for more than one parcel of land on a particular posting. o The adjacent applicant will receive 5 points while applicants 20 or more miles away will receive 1 point. Applicants that are "kitty-corner" to the advertised parcel will score 1 point less than applicants that are adjacent. Applicants falling between "kitty-corner" and 20 will receive weighted scores, rounded to the nearest whole number. Resource base: 5 points (plus RM score) o Applicants with an existing resource base of less than 20 per cent of the average assessment of farms and ranches in the RM where the subject land is situated, score 1. o Applicants with an existing resource base of greater than 200 per cent of the average assessment of farms and ranches in the RM where the subject land is situated, score 0 and are ineligible. This requirement will be waived provided that the land has been advertised for sale and/or leased at least twice and if the applicant is the sole applicant or if all applicants score 0 in the resource category for this reason. o Average farms or ranches for the RM will receive 5 points; applicants whose resource base is at 20 per cent or less, or 200 per cent of average will receive 1 point. Applicants falling between will receive weighted scores, rounded to the nearest whole number. o The assessment of the parcel being applied for is to be included in the applicant s total resource base in order to determine the eligibility and scoring. Age: 5 points (plus RM score) o Applicants who are between 23 and 35 years of age will score maximum points. o Applicants who are less than 18 years old score 0 and are ineligible. o No applicant over 18 scores less than 1 point. o Applicants who score between 18 and 23 and between 35 and 65 will receive weighted scores, rounded to the nearest whole number. RM Scoring o RMs will be given the opportunity to influence the weighting of the above categories. They will be allowed to allocate an additional 15 points amongst the three categories. The points will be added to the above categories prior to scoring; influencing the maximum score in any or all categories.
o Municipal weighting will be subject to revision annually at the request of the RM. Equal weighting will be assumed where an RM fails to advise of its weighting by October 1 of each year, or other date previously determined by the Ministry. 2. Applications from partnerships, or agricultural corporations will be scored as follows: Distance: o Partnership: Average distance of partner's home quarters and nearest land. o Corporate: Average distance of corporate headquarters and earest land. Resource base: o Partnership: Average of partners. o Corporate: Weighted average of total corporate holdings and the individual holdings of the voting shareholders. Age: o Partnership: Average of partners. o Corporate: Weighted average of voting shareholders. C. Allocation Procedure 1. Only one application per farm unit will be considered. All land owned and operated by the farm unit must be included on the application including lands individually owned, owned as joint tenants or owned as tenants in common by members of the farm unit. The age used for purposes of scoring shall be that of the principal operator or the average of the principal operator and the individual(s) applying for the land. 2. The advertisement for lease will occur at a predetermined time. Advertisement will be in selected print media and/or by direct mail out. 3. Applications must be received at the appropriate Lands Branch regional office by the closing date and time. 4. The Ministry will score applications and advise applicants of their score and the highest scores. 5. All applicants will be given an opportunity to discuss their scores and to view any or all of the other applications (the Ministry may adjust the scores where discrepancies are discovered). 6. The Ministry will allocate the land to the highest scorer. Applicants who are tied will be included in deciding how the land is allocated. 7. All applicants will be notified in writing of the final allocation. No final allocation will be made until a minimum of 30 days after the Review Committee ruling, where an allocation is appealed. 8. The successful applicant will be required to purchase any improvements from the Ministry that are situated on the lease. 9. An applicant must have less than the pre-determined maximum area or number of plots allowed per individual in special project areas. To be eligible for a new allocation, a surrendered plot, or area, shall be allocated to the next highest scorer, until all of the plots are allocated.
10. Applicants that are ineligible for a lease because of arrears will be given 30 days to bring into acceptable status. D. Renewal Procedure 1. Lessees will be sent an application early in the year that their lease expires. 2. Lessees must continue to actively manage and operate their farm/ranch and have shown satisfactory performance as a lessee in order to be eligible for renewal. Unsatisfactory performance includes (but is not limited to): Evidence of prolonged heavy grazing resulting in a deterioration in range condition; and Evidence of prolonged severe weed infestation on cultivated land. 3. Lessees whose lease is not renewable as a long term lease because of unsatisfactory performance must be counselled and advised of the specific reasons. They will receive a three year lease after which if they show no improvement the lease will not be renewed. E. Assignment Procedure 1. Lessees wishing to assign their lease must complete an application on the prescribed form expressing their intent to do so. 2. The applicant who wishes to receive the assignment must complete the normal application for Agricultural Crown land form. 3. No deeded land need change hands for an assignment to a family member. 4. The deeded land associated with the lease must be included in the purchase where an assignment to a non-family member is applied for. A maximum of one quarter may be retained where the assignor wishes to retain the residence. Assignments where there is no deeded land will only be approved where the lessee obtains title to a minimum of one of the quarters of the lease and in turn transfers it to the assignee. The quarter purchased must include the residence if there is one or, the quarter must be the one with the most improvements (i.e. livestock facilities,) where there is no residence. Verification with Information Services Corporation that the title on the deeded land was transferred is required prior to completing the assignment. 5. The effective date of the assignment will be January 1 of the current year or following year. 6. Preparation of a new lease is required for all assignments and will follow the assignment of lease form, when it specifies the effective date to be: Prior to September 1, then the lease will be prepared as of January 1 of the current year; or After September 1, then the lease will be prepared as of January 1 of the following year.
7. A request to assign that is received from an Estate will be treated as though the lessee were alive. 8. To be eligible for an assignment, the assignee must be within the limits for rental arrears as established from time to time by the Ministry, on all other existing leases, including joint leases, in the name of the assignee. F. General 1. New lessees of recently posted agricultural Crown land may enter into an improvement purchase agreement where the total value of the improvements exceeds $1,000. The interest rate charged shall be at a rate equal to the prime lending rate of the financial institution holding the general revenue fund plus three per cent. The terms for repayment will be dependent on the value of the improvements and according to the following table: Amount Term (yrs) $1,000.00-2,000.00 1 $2,000.01-3,000.00 2 $3,000.01-4,000.00 3 $4,000.01-5,000.00 4 $5,000.01-6,000.00 5 $6,000.01-7,000.00 6 $7,000.01-8,000.00 7 $8,000.01-9,000.00 8 $9,000.01-10,000.00 9 $10,000.01-12,000.00 10 $12,000.01-14,000.00 11 $14,000.01-16,000.00 12 $16,000.01-18,000.00 13 $18,000.01-20,000.00 14 $20,000.01 and up 15 2. A spouse's name may be added to a lease at time of lease preparation, provided they meet the eligibility criteria. A spouse s name added at a different time must be done by assignment. 3. Limits of the amount of Crown land in special project areas any family can hold by way of allocation or assignment are as follows (the limit may be waived where no acceptable applicant is found): Project Maximum acreage Brokenshell Wetlands (Buttermilk & Ibsen Lakes) 40 Cheal Lake Fodder 120 or 3 plots Dead Lake 1 plot Gilroy 80 Grainland 80 or 2 plots
Horseshoe Bend 160 (useable) Masher Lake 80 or 2 plots Miry Creek 60 Ponass Lake Basin 80 (useable) Rosthern 80 (useable) Rush Lake Federal jurisdiction Souris Valley 1 plot Spangler 80 Squaw Creek 160 Vidora 80 4. SAMA ratings and/or SCIC ratings are to be used in all new lease setups. Land Agrologists can establish their own ratings, where these values are not available from these agencies. The agency responsible for the rating must be notified and any disagreement resolved through discussion, where the Land Agrologist disagrees with the SAMA or SCIC ratings. 5. Rental adjustments that the Ministry considers appropriate will be applied as follows: In the case of an increase in rental, the adjustment will be effective for the year the change is made. In the case of a decrease in rental, the adjustment will be made retroactive to the year in which the client can prove an adjustment was requested, or where the Ministry considers it appropriate to adjust the rental in the case of a client seeding previously cultivated land to forage; the rental adjustment will only be made retroactive to the date that the lessee informed the Ministry of the change. Written documentation that the land was in forage must be provided. Examples of written documentation include information from SCIC and SAMA. This adjustment can only be made if the forage produced on lands in question is utilized by livestock owned by the lessee. 6. Assessment equivalents will be added to the land assessment based on the following schedule where an applicant has an established intensive livestock operation and has a land resource base where additional resource points would be beneficial: Finished cattle marketed in last year: $240/finished animal Sows in a farrow to finish or weanling operation: $180/sow Finished hogs marketed in last year: $60/hog For each 1000 kg of milk quota: $240/1,000kg PMU mares: $660/mare Layer hens maintained for last year: $660/100 hens Broilers sold in last year: $420/1,000 broiler Turkeys sold in last year: $240/100 turkeys 7. Subleasing on grazing land is prohibited unless appoved by the Ministry. The lessee is required to submit a record of the number of the livestock grazed and the names of the
owners, if a sublease is approved. Legitimate custom farming is not classified as a sublease but a written agreement is required in order to verify the custom farming operation. 8. A lessee may with permission from the Ministry cut hay on leased pasture and use for their own cattle. A lessee may not cut hay on leased pasture and sell the hay. 9. At the request of the lessee, the Ministry may reduce rent for any loss on leased land if the lessee is ineligible for insurance caused by an uncontrollable natural event. The lessee must complete a Rental Reduction Request form, available on the Ministry s website, indicating the inability to obtain insurance. SCIC offers insurance for the following losses: Drought; Excessive rain; Hail; Flood; Frost; Snow; Wind; Lightning; Hurricane; Tornado; Accidental fire; Damage caused by wildlife; Insects; Gopher; and Plant disease. Check SCIC s website for further information: www.saskcropinsurance.com/ci/forage/causeof-loss For more information, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/crownlands or contact your local regional office found here www.saskatchewan.ca/ag-regional-offices or listed below: Northeast (Tisdale) Box 1480, 1105-99th Street TISDALE SK S0E 1T0 306-878-8842 Northwest (North Battleford) A131-1192 102nd Street NORTH BATTLEFORD SK S9A 1E9 306-446-7962 South (Swift Current) 101-350 Cheadle Street SWIFT CURRENT SK S9H 4G3 306-778-8285