Mr. Hoffman owned two farms located about 400 miles from his home. In the year 1956 he leased his farms to tenants pursuant to an agreement in which he determined which crops were to be planted by giving his tenants a map showing which crops were to be planted on which plots of land. He gave instructions on which plots of land were subject to washouts. He visited the land once a year or more, depending on needs. He used his brother-in-law as a go-between for communication with the tenants and to check on how things were going on the farms. But his brother-in-law did not make any management decisions.
Under these circumstances, it was held that Mr. Hoffman did not materially participate in the management or production of agricultural or horticultural commodities. Therefore, his income derived from the farms was real estate rental income and was not creditable to him for social security purposes.
See Hoffman v. Ribicoff, 305 F.2d 1 (8th Cir. 1962). See also Social Security Ruling (SSR) 63-45c.
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