Free farmland lease templates by state
Cash rent, crop share and pasture lease agreements written for your state’s law, plus county cash rent data and five lease rate calculators to set the rent before you sign.
- Free downloads
- State-specific lease terms
- Free rent calculators
State level lease templates, lease data and calculators
How farmland lease templates differ by state
A farmland lease template is not a national form. The clauses that matter most — how the lease ends, how much warning you have to give, and whether it quietly renews for another crop year if you say nothing — are set by each state’s code, and they differ enough that using an out-of-state form can cost you a full season of possession.
Three patterns account for most of the country.
Fixed statutory deadline
A handful of states name a calendar date. Iowa, Ohio and South Dakota all use September 1: written notice on or before that date, or the tenancy continues into the following crop year on the same terms. Kansas runs the other direction, fixing termination at March 1 and requiring notice at least 30 days beforehand.
Rolling notice period
More states measure backward from the end of your lease year rather than from a calendar date. Illinois requires at least four months’ written notice and expressly says the requirement cannot be waived in a verbal lease. Wisconsin uses 90 days, Indiana three months, Missouri 60 days, Maryland 180 days.
No farm-specific rule
In Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Colorado, general landlord-tenant notice statutes govern farm ground. In those states the lease itself is doing all the work — there is no statutory default to fall back on.
Two more traps worth knowing. Several western states — California, Idaho, Washington, Nevada, Montana — use a holdover rule instead of a notice deadline: a tenant left in possession more than 60 days past the term without a demand for possession is entitled to hold for another full year. And in Nebraska and Tennessee the controlling rule comes from court decisions rather than statute: Nebraska’s six-month notice on an oral year-to-year lease, measured against a March 1 lease year, lands on September 1 — and applies to the date notice is received, not sent (Nebraska Extension).
Termination rules in the 34 states we publish templates for
| State | Farm-specific statute? | Notice required | Deadline or trigger | Auto-renews if no notice? | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No — general statute | 10 days (monthly or under one year) | No fixed date; farm rule keyed to March 20 | Not stated | Ala. Code §§ 35-9-5, 35-9-38 |
| Arizona | No — general law | None stated; tenancy ends at year end | No fixed date | No | A.R.S. § 33-341 |
| Arkansas | Yes — oral farm leases | Written notice by certified mail | June 30 for the next calendar year | Yes — year to year | Ark. Code § 18-16-105 |
| California | Partial — ag holdover | Demand or notice to quit within 60 days of term end | 60 days after expiration | Yes — another full year | Civ. Code § 1943; CCP § 1161(2) |
| Colorado | No — general FED statute | 91 days (tenancy of one year or longer) | End of the period | Not stated | C.R.S. § 13-40-107 |
| Florida | No — nonresidential Part I | 3 months (year-to-year) | Before end of period | Not stated | Fla. Stat. § 83.03 |
| Georgia | No — tenancy at will | 60 days landlord / 30 days tenant | No fixed date | Not stated | Ga. Code § 44-7-7 |
| Idaho | Partial — ag holdover | Demand or notice within 60 days of expiration | 60 days after expiration | Yes — another full year | Idaho Code § 6-303(2) |
| Illinois | Yes — farmland tenancies | 4 months, written, before end of lease year | Oct 31 on a Mar 1 lease year | Yes | 735 ILCS 5/9-206 |
| Indiana | No — general year-to-year | 3 months before expiration of the year | Before Dec 1 on a Feb-end year | Effectively yes | Ind. Code § 32-31-1-3 |
| Iowa | Yes — farm tenancies | Written, on or before Sept 1 | Sept 1 → terminates Mar 1 | Yes | Iowa Code §§ 562.5–562.7 |
| Kansas | Yes — farm & pastureland | Written, 30+ days before Mar 1 | March 1 | Holdover becomes year-to-year | K.S.A. 58-2506 |
| Kentucky | No — general statute | One month (tenancy at will) | No fixed date | Not stated | KRS 383.195 |
| Louisiana | Yes — Civil Code ag rules | 30 days before the end of the term | No fixed date | Yes — by reconduction | La. Civ. Code arts. 2721, 2722, 2728 |
| Maryland | Yes — farm year-to-year | 180 days before tenancy-year end (90 for tobacco) | No fixed date | Yes | Md. Real Prop. § 8-402(c)(2) |
| Michigan | No — general notice statute | 1 year for a year-to-year tenancy | 1 year after service | Presumed if landlord accepts rent | MCL 554.134 |
| Minnesota | No general farm rule | Rent interval or 3 months, whichever is less | No fixed date | Lease’s own clause controls | Minn. Stat. § 504B.135 (farm/life-estate rule § 500.25) |
| Mississippi | No — general statute | 2 months (year-to-year) | No fixed date | Not stated | Miss. Code § 89-7-23 |
| Missouri | Partial — ag carve-out | 60 days before end of the year | Lease anniversary | Yes | Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 441.050, 441.060(3) |
| Nebraska | No — rule from case law | 6 months before end of lease year | Sept 1 on a Mar 1 lease year | Yes (oral leases) | Neb. case law; § 76-1408(7) ag exclusion |
| New York | No — general periodic rules | 1 month before expiration of the term | No fixed date | Not stated | N.Y. Real Prop. Law §§ 232-b, 228 |
| North Carolina | Partial — listed counties only | 1 month before end of tenancy year | Dec 1 in covered counties | No express provision | N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-23, 42-14 |
| North Dakota | No — general lease statutes | Notice as long as the term, capped at one calendar month | No fixed date | Yes, by presumption | N.D. Cent. Code §§ 47-16-06, 47-16-15 |
| Ohio | Yes — agricultural crop leases | Written, on or before Sept 1 | Sept 1 → harvest complete or Dec 31 | Yes | Ohio Rev. Code § 5301.71 |
| Oklahoma | No — general statutes | 3 months (year-to-year) | No fixed date | Yes — presumed on holdover | Okla. Stat. tit. 41, §§ 4, 5 |
| Pennsylvania | No — Landlord & Tenant Act 1951 | 15 days (term ≤1 yr); 30 days (term >1 yr) | Measured from service | Not stated | 68 P.S. § 250.501 |
| South Carolina | Yes — farm year-end rule | None stated; lease ends by statute | December 31 | Not stated | S.C. Code §§ 27-35-30, 27-35-100 |
| South Dakota | Yes — oral leases, 40+ acres | Written, by Sept 1 | Sept 1 → terminates Mar 1 | Yes | S.D. Codified Laws § 43-32-22.1 |
| Tennessee | No — rule from case law | 6 months before expiration | June 30 on a Dec 31 year | Yes (oral leases) | Smith v. Holt (1945) |
| Texas | No — general notice statute | One month after notice (monthly tenancy) | No fixed date | Per the lease’s own renewal clause | Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001 |
| Virginia | No — ag land expressly covered | 3 months (year-to-year) | Before the end of the lease year | No express provision | Va. Code §§ 55.1-1400, 55.1-1410 |
| Washington | Partial — ag holdover | Demand within 60 days; 30+ days for periodic | 60 days after expiration | Yes — another full year | RCW 59.12.035; RCW 59.04.020 |
| West Virginia | No — general statute | 3 months (year-to-year) | Before the end of the lease year | Not stated | W. Va. Code § 37-6-5 |
| Wisconsin | Yes — ag year-to-year | 90 days before end of the annual rental year | No fixed date | Effectively yes | Wis. Stat. §§ 704.19(3), 704.03 |
Most of these defaults apply only when a written lease is silent. A written lease with a definite term and its own notice provision generally displaces the statutory rule — which is the single strongest argument for putting the lease in writing.
Educational information only — not legal advice. The statutory summaries above describe default rules as published by state codes and land-grant extension services. Statutes, section numbers and court interpretations change, and most of these default rules apply only where a written lease is silent — a written lease to the contrary can change or eliminate the notice rule. Customary lease-year dates such as March 1 and December 31 are local practice, not law, unless identified as statutory above. Before giving notice, refusing to vacate, or re-renting ground, confirm the current law with a licensed attorney in the state where the land is located. Last reviewed: October 2026
Cash rent vs crop share vs flex: which template do you need?
The three lease structures differ in one respect that matters more than all the others: who absorbs a bad year. Under a fixed cash lease, all the variation in net returns caused by unexpected changes in yields, prices and production costs is borne by the tenant (Iowa State Extension). Under a 50-50 crop share, both parties share the loss proportionally (Nebraska Extension). Flexible leases sit between the two, and they have been gaining ground: between 2007 and 2017, flexible cash leases rose from 5% to 9% of Iowa farmland acres while crop share fell from 12% to 9%.
| Compare on | Fixed cash rent | Crop share | Flexible / variable cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who bears yield & price risk | Tenant, entirely | Shared in the same proportion as the crop | Shared — base rent is guaranteed, upside is split |
| Landowner involvement | Lowest — no input decisions | Highest — landowner typically pays a share of seed, fertilizer and chemicals (Missouri Extension) | Low to moderate — no input decisions, but requires agreed yield and price data |
| How rent is calculated | Fixed $/acre, set before planting | Landowner takes a share of gross revenue less a share of shared costs — commonly 50-50, or 1/3–2/3 (Oklahoma State) | Base rent plus a second payment after harvest, driven by actual revenue (Missouri Extension) |
| When it’s paid | Often in full in spring, or half spring / half harvest | As the crop is sold | Base payment in spring, variable payment after harvest |
| Needs annual renegotiation? | Frequently, to stay near market | Self-adjusting | No — the formula adjusts itself |
| Choose it if | You want a predictable, simple, low-management return | You want to participate in a strong year and can accept a weak one | You want downside protection with upside participation, and both parties trust a common data source |
A flexible lease only works if the formula is written down completely: the yield source, the price source, the rent factor, and any cap or floor. Run your numbers before you draft it.
Open the flex lease calculatorWhat every farmland lease must contain
Most farmland lease disputes are not about the rent. They are about something the lease never addressed — who pays for the tile repair, who gets the FSA payment, whether the tenant can hunt, what condition the soil comes back in. Work through the checklist below before you sign.
01 Parties and property
Get these wrong and nothing else in the lease is enforceable against the right person.
02 Term, renewal and termination
The group that causes the most disputes, and the one your state’s statute will fill in for you if you leave it blank.
03 Rent and payments
For share and flex leases, the calculation procedure matters more than the number.
04 Soil health and water quality
The group most templates omit entirely — and the one that determines what condition the ground comes back in.
05 Operation and maintenance
Decide who pays and who owns the improvement at the end — before the tile goes in.
06 Rights and restrictions
Everything the tenant may and may not do with the ground beyond growing a crop on it.
07 Disputes and amendments
Cheap to write in, expensive to leave out.
Adapted from the farmland lease provision checklist published by Ohio State University Extension. Educational information only — not legal advice.
Leasing ground in more than one state? A template is only the start.
Every state on this page has its own notice deadline, and every lease has its own payment dates. Oaken keeps all of them in one system of record, with reminders before anything is missed.
“Accurate, timely, and easily accessible information both in the office and on the road.”Star Rock Farms, Oaken customer
How to set the rent before you sign
A lease template gives you the structure. It does not tell you what number to put in it. There are four defensible ways to arrive at that number, and it is worth running at least two — if they land in the same range, you can negotiate with confidence; if they diverge widely, that gap is usually telling you something about soil productivity, drainage, or field size.
| Method | How it works | Worked example |
|---|---|---|
| Comparable rents | Start from the going rate for comparable land nearby, then adjust for differences in productivity and inputs. | Comparable average $33.00/ac, less $4.00/ac for extra fertilizer required = $29.00/ac (Oklahoma State) |
| Percent of land value | Apply a target return to the land’s agricultural value, not its development value. Some use the 20-year Treasury rate as the benchmark. | At 3–4%: $3,000/ac land = $90–$120/ac; $6,000/ac land = $180–$240/ac (Michigan State) |
| Yield × price × rent factor | Multiply proven yield by expected price by a rent factor — commonly 36–40% for corn and 40–44% for soybeans. Use a five-year production average if APH is unavailable. | Corn APH 242 bu/ac × $4.00/bu × 0.36–0.40 = $348–$387/ac (Illinois Extension) |
| Residual income — what the farm can afford | Build an enterprise budget: expected revenue less variable and fixed costs, less a return to the operator’s labor and management — usually valued at 5–8% of gross receipts. | The residual, divided by acres, gives the maximum rent the operation can afford to pay (Oklahoma State) |
Whichever method you use, adjust for the things a county average cannot see: soil test results and NRCS productivity index, ten-year cropping history including FSA base acres, documented actual yields, herbicide history, drainage tile condition and mapping, and field size — fields under 40 acres are generally discounted (Michigan State).
Run the numbers
Each calculator takes the method above and does the arithmetic, including the adjustments most county averages miss.
- Cash rental rate calculatorSet a cash rent from yield, price and rent factor
- Flex lease calculatorBuild a base-plus-bonus formula and stress-test it
- Pasture rental calculatorPer-acre, per-AUM and per-head approaches
- Grain storage calculatorBin and commercial storage rental rates
- Livestock facility calculatorBarn, lot and facility rental rates
- All lease calculatorsBrowse the full set
Check your county
Before you commit to a number, see where your county actually sits — and whether it sits above or below its own multi-year average.
Educational information only — not legal advice. Rent figures above are worked examples from the cited land-grant extension publications, not current market quotes for any specific parcel. Lease templates published on this site are starting points, not substitutes for review by a licensed attorney in the state where the land is located. Confirm the current statute and your own lease terms before giving notice, refusing to vacate, or re-renting ground. Last reviewed: September 2026
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