public records of sellers to buyers of private vineyards

[hotwine]

I think most share-cropping is 50/50. It certainly is with our hay crop; we allow use of a field for hay production, and the contractor does all the work for half the number of bales produced. Of course, it's easy enough to walk out in the field and count the number of bales on the ground at the end of the cut; if there's less than half remaining, after he's pulled out all of his equipment, he owes us the market price of the missing bales, or we can have the sheriff pay him a visit.

VV, if you indeed have a written contract with this fellow, suggest you ask your lawyer to demand copies of his production and sales records for the last couple of years. If the guy balks, have the lawyer obtain a court order to demand disclosure. Reasonable time limits should be imposed, such as 10 days for him to respond to your lawyer, and 30 days to respond to the court order. The courts have a way of stimulating cooperation in such matters. But if you have to go through all of that, you need to seriously re-think your arrangements with this guy, and find someone else to do business with.