When the region has a big wheat crop, and prices are high, John Sharp and Allen Hatley naturally are happy, they say. This year, though, an average crop is expected, and they're merely upbeat.

The farm-bred executives of Sharp & Hatley Inc., of Spokane, manage about 140 farms and work with roughly the same number of tenant farmers, although some farms have more than one tenant, and some farmers lease more than one farm, says Sharp, the president of the company.

The firm, which has one employee in addition to its owners and occupies 1,000 square feet of space at 2828 S. 32nd, oversees more than 100,000 acres of farmland in Eastern Washington, North Idaho, and North Central Idaho, mostly for absentee owners and trusts, he says.

Most of that acreage is on dryland farms that they manage for winter-wheat production, although other crops include barley, peas, and lentils, and some of the acreage is pastureland, says Hatley, the firm's vice president.

Because both of the executives are close to their agricultural roots, they look forward to each day's work.

Hatley says it's most rewarding to visit properties and discuss farming operations with tenants.

"John and I enjoy talking with various farmers," he says. "We usually meet with them by their pickups or in their kitchens."

They also value the independence that comes with being their own bosses, Hatley says, adding, "The business is varied enough that it's always fun."

Sharp & Hatley is the bridge between the landowner and the farmer, Sharp says.

The firm selects tenant farmers and acts as the landlord on behalf of the property owners. It also determines which crops and various government programs are best for the owner.

Some owners want to be involved in that decision-making process. Others, some of whom have never set foot on a farm, don't want to be bothered, Sharp says.

About 95 percent of the owners reap shares of the crops harvested from their lands, and the management firm receives a percentage of the property owners' shares.

"We sell the owners' shares of the crops and take some out for reserves and a smidgeon for us," Sharp says. "The landlord only has to do one thing—cash the check."

The company's revenue fluctuates with market prices and overall farm production.

"We share in the good times and bad times," Hatley says.

It's common for farmers to lease land in addition to land that they own, and some farmers have to rent land to achieve an economy of scale that allows them to stay in business, he says.

"It takes so many acres just to justify equipment cost," Sharp says. "Some farmers don't own an acre and lease it all."

The firm provides other farm services for straight fees, including appraisals, consulting, sales, and investor acquisitions.

Recent wheat prices aren't even half of what they were two years ago, when they peaked at more than $10 a bushel. That peak was short-lived, Hatley says. "We had hoped that after that increase the price of wheat would settle at a higher plateau than before," but that didn't happen, he says.

Production costs—especially for fuel and fertilizer—also skyrocketed as wheat prices climbed, and they haven't dropped since then at the same rate at which wheat prices have fallen.

"It's very seldom that we have high production and high wheat prices," he says.

As of July 21, the Portland price for soft white wheat was listed at $5.40 a bushel for July delivery.

"For farmers, that's a break-even deal," Sharp says. "Crops are average, and fertilizer prices are very high. It's not going to be a big year."

Hatley says he can't predict what will happen with next year's crop. Despite heavy snowfall the last two winters, "farmers have been in a dry cycle for a number of years," he says.

Since 1974, soft-white wheat prices here have been over $5 a bushel on Oct. 1, at the end of harvest, only three times.

Five dollars obviously doesn't go near as far today as it did 35 years ago, Hatley says. "Back then fertilizer cost 9 cents a pound. Earlier this year it topped 90 cents."

The cost for a new combine harvester easily can exceed $260,000 now—more than 10 times what one would have cost in 1974, he says.

Despite farming's challenges, Sharp & Hatley has little trouble finding tenants to lease the farmlands the firm manages.

"The problem is trying to select a farmer, because they are beating down our door," Sharp asserts.

The two men say they don't see much farmland being converted to other uses.

"Most have been farms for generations and will be farms for a long time," Allen says.

The farms they manage change hands occasionally, but the total acreage overseen by the firm has remained fairly constant.

"There is some turnover," Hatley says, adding that a new client comes through the door about as often as one leaves.

"Sometimes we still manage the same farm after it changes hands," he says.

The firm moved to its South Hill quarters from a downtown space nearly three years ago. The office is within a few minutes of Sharp's and Hatley's homes, and parking there is more convenient for visiting clients and tenants than parking downtown, Sharp says.

Most often, the managers prefer to meet with farmers in the field, and they visit each farm at least once a year.

"I haven't been on a farm for about two hours," Hatley says, and he isn't kidding. "We're old farm boys. We like to get out on the farm and kick the clods."

Sharp says a farm background is required to understand what the farmer is up against on a day-to-day basis.

"Part of this job was learned from mom and dad on the farm," Hatley adds. "You don't learn it from books."

Hatley grew up on a wheat-and-pea farm near Pullman, and Sharp was raised on a 1,300-acre wheat farm in Walla Walla County. Both are graduates of Washington State University, in Pullman. Hatley has a bachelor's degree in agriculture and a master's in farm management, and Sharp has a bachelor's degree in agribusiness management.

They met in 1974 while working for Seattle First National Bank, in Spokane, where Hatley was the farm manager under Sharp's supervision in the bank's trust department.

Hatley left Seattle First National and formed a farm-management firm in 1981. Sharp left the bank in 1993. The two formed Sharp & Hatley, and Bonnie Ulbright, Sharp's longtime trust assistant, also joined the firm.