Farmland for Lease

1. The Lessee will be responsible for all costs associated with farming the lands.
2. The City of Regina shall be responsible for the annual property taxes.
3. The Lessee has the discretion to farm the land as they see fit, but are requested to indicate the types of crops proposed over the upcoming five years. There is an expectation to maintain normal farm management practices that would include the control of weeds and re-establishing soil nutrients for the future seeding season.
4. There is an existing access to the property near the NW corner of the arable land. The lessee must ensure that their equipment will fit on existing roads and driveways. The lessee is responsible for any permits required to gain access to this location with oversized equipment.
5. The lessee will provide a certificate of insurance in the amount and coverage as required by the formal lease agreement with the City named as a co-insured.
6. The lessee will provide an emergency response plan in case of an environmental spill or fire.
7. The City of Regina reserves the right to adjust the amount of land available from one cropping season to the next based on City of Regina land requirements at this location. The City of Regina will only consider compensation for crop loss should the City identify land requirements after March 20^th for that year, which will negatively impact the lessee.  The lessee will be required to provide evidence of loss. 
8. Form FLL must be accompanied by a deposit (certified cheque or money order) in an amount of ten percent (10%) of the annual bid. Deposits will be returned to unsuccessful bidders.
9. Enquiries regarding this property should be directed to:
   Sherri Hegyi, Real Estate Officer, 306-552-8490, shegyi@regina.ca
10. Your offer must be marked as FARM LAND LEASE on the outside of a sealed envelope, delivered to the following address: 
    City of Regina Real Estate Branch, Attn: Real Estate Manager, P.O. Box 1790, Regina, SK, S4P 3C8
11. If the City of Regina accepts your offer, you will be required to execute a formal “Lease Agreement”, a sample of which is attached as Schedule “A”. Please review this carefully before submitting an offer.
12. All information about the Property supplied by The City of Regina is for guidance only, and City of Regina is not responsible for errors or omissions in that information. In submitting an offer, you should rely entirely upon your own personal inspection or knowledge of the Property, independent of any representation made by or on behalf of City of Regina. All land being offered in this farm lease is in an “as is” condition, with irregular land surface, no specified quality or quantity of crop production is indicated and the land may have foreign materials or hazards to farming equipment. The City of Regina will not be held responsible for damage to equipment.
13. The City of Regina will review all offers and will select the one that is most advantageous to The City of Regina.
14. The City of Regina will not be responsible for: (a) any costs you incur in preparing your offer or in negotiating and documenting the lease of the Property, or, (b) any costs related to the operation of farming the land.

The City of Regina reserves the right to reject any or all offers.

What is an Emergency Response Plan and what must be provided?
An Emergency Response Plan is a summary outlining your preparations/actions anticipated should you have a fire or fuel/fluid spill while out at the site.  It should include any tools or equipment you might have on your equipment; your access to a cell phone or radio (with those that would be monitoring your calls; procedures you would follow in the event of a spill or fire, reporting of the spill or fire to the City and appropriate agencies; planned actions to mitigate the spread and clean-up of the situation.

Do I get charged rent for lands that I can’t seed?
For the initial estimate, we will be using the calculated acreage of the arable land on the property.  However, if there are low lying or unproductive areas on the parcel, the City will work directly with the successful bidder to seek agreement on the rent that should apply based on those lands seeded and harvested.  GPS evidence of each would be helpful in making your case to amend the acreage for that year.

Why are my payments on a monthly basis?
The City would prefer to receive funds on an installment basis.

Why doesn’t the City set a rate expected for leasing the property?
The prices offered establishes the market value for the land and reflect the farming situation at that location.  The rate per acre only makes up a portion of the City requirements.  Other considerations include potential spraying for weeds on the overall parcel, provision of insurance and emergency response plan. 

If I am successful in getting the lease, can I sublet this property?
No, the lease agreement sets the expectation that the lessee will be the operator of the lands.

Can I use pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer on the property?
The City would expect you to implement “normally accepted” farming practices, which recognizes the use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer as necessary to control noxious weeds, pests and maintain soil nutrient levels.  The City also recognizes that this farm land is next to existing residential and commercial development with expectations to minimize odour, dust, noise and any roadway hazards. A level of sensitivity to neighbouring concerns is required. The City expects that the land will be left in a similar condition as it is at the start of the lease.

Am I allowed to hunt on this property?
No, the lease is solely for the purpose of carrying on the business of a farming operation.

Am I allowed to have livestock on the land?
No, Livestock are not to be raised on the land or allowed to graze on the land.

If I lease the property and the City decides to use or develop a portion of the land, will I be compensated for crop loss?
If the City runs into a situation where a portion of the property is required for City purposes during the cropping season, there will be compensation provided.  Should the City identify that fewer acres will be required between the harvest and seeding, the lessee will be notified that there will be fewer acres available in the upcoming year, but no financial compensation will be provided.

As there are more acres on the property than are currently arable, can I break new areas for seeding?
The City is not averse to this, but would caution that there is an expectation of rent based on the number of acres seeded.  Developing marginal lands would be the lessee’s risk.