Diane Thompson,
There are two publications from the BIA: 1. Report #250, "Indian
Owned Resources, Their Use and Apportionment"; 2. Report #260,
"Alternatives to the Use and Apportionment of Indian Owned Range
Resources". They were published in 1977, and are an examination by
the BIA on their leasing prices for farmland and grazing land.
There are several questions that come to mind, regarding your possible
problem of unfair lease amounts. The first question is "How much
land do you own?" If the land you inherited is fractionated, then you
might own three thousandths of 40 acres (or some such amount). This
would give you very little income. If you own the majority percentage
of allotted land (40, 60, 160 acres), then there are other reasons
that your income may be small.
These publications listed here can illuminate that sometimes a rancher
or farmer must pay very high production costs -- the government in
these instances charges a very low lease amount in order not to
drive the grower out of business.
My grandmother owns marginal, dryfarming land in Montana. She receives
$13.50 an acre, but she does not lease it out through the BIA. If your
land is not divided among a large number of heirs, you may be able to
lease it out without going through the government. You do risk the
lessor not paying you, or even overgrazing the land -- or other various
problems that are accompanied by renting property.
Good Luck.
Chuck Berger/Blackfeet/University of Oklahoma.
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Diane, there are two BIA pulications that cover this subject. One
is Report #250,"Indian Owned Resources: Their Use and Apportionment",
and Report #260, "Alternatives to the Use and Apportionment of Indian
Owned Resources". They discuss the "not so fair" pricing of Range
leases. There are a few alternatives about the disparity between
market value and the amount collected by the Government. One thing that
helps to put things in perspective is that Beef and Crop prices are down
and the cost of producing these goods is high (to the grower). This
economic fact gives the grower two choices: 1. To get out of the
business; or, 2. Try to keep overhead down. The Government attempts
to resolve this crisis for the Rancher and Farmer by keeping lease prices
low. The Government realizes that this is not particularly fair to the
landowner, but if the Government demands higher lease monies, the grower
will go out of business and the land will sit idle.
These two publications explain in detail what the Government
is trying to do to rectify this problem for the landowner. You should
be able to acquire copies at your Area BIA office. Telephone Information
should have the number.
I am from Montana. Range grass there is of the quality that
requires about 4.5 acres per month to feed one cow -- this would be
considered as a 5 in quality, if on a scale of 1 to 10. This same type
of rangeland is owned by my family; they lease it out for dryland farm-
ing. Our lease is handled by the family (not through the BIA or Tribe).
You might be able to lease the land yourself if you own the majority
percentage. Our lease income for the land is $13.50 per acre. This is
a little low, but the people leasing the land are very dependable and
have been leasing it for several decades -- thus, the price break.
Good Luck. Chuck Berger at OU in Oklahoma.