| | Is the opening offer fair? This new online benchmark tool and map can help.
When a representative from an energy exploration company visits a landowner to negotiate land access and a surface right, who is holding the cards? Arguably, some say, it’s the company. After all, companies negotiate land deals every day. Producers might sign a lease agreement only once in their lifetime.
This is when the Farmers’ Advocate Office (FAO) can play a role. Established 35 years ago to help farmers deal with surface rights, the FAO saw a need in recent years to address this knowledge gap.
“We are often asked, ‘what is the going rate?’ ” says Assistant Farmers’ Advocate Graham Gilchrist. “We’re trying to move the teeter-totter a little closer to the center by providing landowners with knowledge. We decided to take the same approach as any other commodity. That is, publish the prices.”
Research attaches dollar signs to lease agreements
With funding from the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF), the FAO secured a three-year license agreement with William D. Marriott & Associates, a private Alberta company specializing in surface lease data. The FAO will publish 2007 surface lease maps on its website.
“There is still a lot of work to do,” says Gilchrist. “It doesn't quite go down to the township level, but you can see a map of the province as far as the highs and lows. It’s a place to start negotiations with.”
He notes that producers can contact Marriott directly to access township-level data reports. More work is also needed to continue to feed the database. The energy industry is the only current source. Producers need to feed it, too.
“There is value in sharing this data with your neighbours,” Gilchrist says, adding that knowledge has power and the more a community knows, the more they can change the perceived level of that power.
He believes that the better idea you have on price to start with, the more the agreement can meet your needs as a landowner. Gilchrist reminds producers that if the two sides ultimately fail to reach an agreement, the resource company can eventually get a right-of- entry order, with compensation set by the Surface Rights Board.
Says Gilchrist: “The job of the producer is to be ready with a counter offer. You need to determine your best offer and your walk-away offer. At the end of the day, both sides have to benefit.”
Visit the surface lease agreement pricing map at www.farmersadvocate.gov.ab.ca. You can contact the Farmers' Advocate Office at 310-FARM (3276) or by email to farmers.advocate@gov.ab.ca
Land Value for Surface Leases
Click on the image above for a large version of the map (149 KB GIF) |
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