Free California farm lease agreement templates, ready to sign
The California FarmLink lease plus crop-share and pasture templates, with the state rules on lease terms, holdovers and notice.
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Choose the lease that matches how you split the risk. One email unlocks every template.
California Lease Bundle
Every template in one download: the California FarmLink lease, cash, crop-share, pasture, livestock, building and machinery leases.
Unlock bundleDownload bundleCalifornia FarmLink Lease
California FarmLink basic farm lease template covering rent, water, improvements and termination.
DownloadCrop-Share Lease
Crop-share farm lease (NCFMEC-02A) for splitting the crop, input costs and risk.
DownloadPasture Lease
Pasture lease (NCFMEC-03A): acreage, term, stocking rate, fencing and water.
DownloadEnding or changing a lease? California: a farm tenant who stays 60 days past the lease end without a notice to quit can hold another full year. See how to give notice →
How California farm leases work
When a California lease can end, how much notice it takes and what to put in writing.
How to end a California farm lease
An agricultural or grazing lease with no stated term is presumed to run one year (Civ. Code § 1943). Notice to end a periodic hiring must equal the hiring period, capped at 30 days (Civ. Code § 1946).
| Situation | Notice rule |
|---|---|
| Lease with no stated term | Presumed one year; notice equal to the period, max 30 days |
| Tenant holds over 60+ days with no demand or notice | Tenant may hold another full year on the same terms |
| Written lease with an end date | Ends on the stated date if you act within 60 days |
The 60-day holdover rule in CCP § 1161(2) is the trap: if the landlord neither demands possession nor serves a notice to quit within 60 days after the term ends, the tenant gets another year. Compare every state in Oaken's farm lease termination guide.
Put the new terms in writing
Start the next lease from a California template with clear end dates and notice terms.
Get the California templatesPick the right California lease type
Setting the rent? The 2026 median non-irrigated cropland rent across 20 of 58 published California counties is $34.75 per acre. Compare yours on the California cash rent by county map or read the 2026 rent negotiation guide.
Oral vs. written leases in California
Under California's statute of frauds, a lease longer than one year generally must be in writing. Water rights, groundwater limits and district assessments are hard to prove without a written lease.
Our advice: a lease that has rolled over for years on a handshake leaves no record of the rent, input splits or notice terms. Write it down, even for a one-year deal. Get the templates →
What to put in writing
- Names, legal description and FSA acres
- Start date, end date and how renewal works
- Rent, due dates and any flex formula
- Notice deadline and how notice is delivered
- Carry-over fertilizer and lime reimbursement
- Conservation practices, tile and drainage
- Surface water and groundwater rights, SGMA limits and district assessments
- Who holds and renews any organic or food-safety certifications
- Hunting, wind and solar rights
Free lease rate calculators
Run the numbers before you fill in your California lease. County data built in.
A template covers one lease. Oaken runs all of them.
Once the leases are signed, the real work starts: rent due dates, flex bonuses, notice deadlines and landowner statements. Oaken tracks every one across every farm and all 58 California counties.
A quick call with our team. No obligation.
| Binder & spreadsheet | With Oaken |
|---|---|
| Deadlines tracked by memory | Automated lease and payment tracking |
| Flex and crop-share formulas that break | Variable rent calculated and reconciled |
| Landowners call for updates | Landowner portal |
| One person holds the file | Multi-user access, office or field |
| Risky hand-off to new staff | White-glove onboarding |
California farm lease questions
What is the deadline to terminate a farm lease in California?
For a periodic agricultural lease, notice must equal the rental period but no more than 30 days (Civ. Code § 1946). A lease with no stated term is presumed to run one year (Civ. Code § 1943). The key deadline comes after the term ends: if the tenant holds over more than 60 days without a demand for possession or a notice to quit, the tenant may stay another full year (CCP § 1161(2)).
What happens if a California farm tenant stays after the lease ends?
Under Code of Civil Procedure § 1161(2), a tenant of agricultural land who holds over for more than 60 days after the term ends, without any demand for possession or notice to quit, is treated as holding with permission and may stay under the lease terms for another full year.
How long can a California agricultural lease last?
Civil Code § 717 makes any lease of land for agricultural or horticultural purposes longer than 51 years invalid where rent or service is reserved.
Does a California farm lease need to be in writing?
A lease longer than one year generally must be in writing to be enforceable under California's statute of frauds. Written terms are also the only reliable way to document water allocations and who pays district assessments.
What is the average farmland cash rent in California in 2026?
Across the 20 of 58 California counties with published 2026 USDA NASS cash rent data, the median county rent for non-irrigated cropland is $34.75 per acre. Oaken's California cash rent map shows every published county, its rank and its change from 2025.
How does Oaken help manage California farmland leases?
Oaken keeps every California lease, landowner and payment in one place. It tracks rent due dates and each lease's notice deadline, calculates flex and crop-share payments, and gives landowners a portal for statements, so nothing depends on a binder or one person's memory.