Download your Kentucky lease template
Choose the lease that matches how you split the risk. One email unlocks every template.
Kentucky Lease Bundle
Every template in one download: cash rent, crop-share, pasture, livestock rental, farm building and machinery leases.
Unlock bundleDownload bundleCash Rent Lease
Fixed cash rent farm lease (NCFMEC-01A) from the North Central Farm Management Extension Committee.
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? Kentucky: after a lease of a year or more ends, the landowner has 90 days to act or the tenant can stay another year. See how to give notice →
How Kentucky farm leases work
When a Kentucky lease can end, how much notice it takes and what to put in writing.
How to end a Kentucky farm lease
Kentucky has no farm-only notice deadline. A lease of a year or more that ends on a set date ends that day, but if the tenant stays and the landlord doesn't start proceedings within 90 days, none can be brought until a year after the lease ended (KRS 383.160).
| Situation | Notice rule |
|---|---|
| Lease of a year or more ends on a set date | Tenant must leave; landlord has 90 days to act |
| No action within 90 days | Tenant can stay until a year after the lease ended, then year to year |
| Tenancy at will or by sufferance | One month's written notice from the landlord |
For tenancies at will, KRS 383.195 requires one month's written notice in areas where the residential act is not in effect. Kentucky has no statutory Sept 1 farm lease deadline. Compare every state in Oaken's farm lease termination guide.
Put the new terms in writing
Start the next lease from a Kentucky template with clear end dates and notice terms.
Get the Kentucky templatesPick the right Kentucky lease type
Setting the rent? The 2026 median non-irrigated cropland rent across 86 of 120 published Kentucky counties is $127 per acre. Compare yours on the Kentucky cash rent by county map or read the 2026 rent negotiation guide.
Oral vs. written leases in Kentucky
Under Kentucky's statute of frauds, a lease longer than one year generally must be in writing. Tobacco, hay and cattle arrangements are often oral and hard to prove.
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
- Barn, tobacco and hay storage use
- Fence repair and cattle water
- Hunting, wind and solar rights
Free lease rate calculators
Run the numbers before you fill in your Kentucky 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 120 Kentucky 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 |
Kentucky farm lease questions
What is the deadline to terminate a farm lease in Kentucky?
Kentucky has no farm-specific deadline. For a tenancy at will, KRS 383.195 requires one month's written notice from the landlord. For a lease of a year or more that ends on a set date, the tenant must leave that day, and the landlord must start proceedings within 90 days or wait until a year after the lease ended (KRS 383.160).
What happens if a Kentucky farm tenant stays after the lease ends?
Under KRS 383.160, if the landlord does not start proceedings within 90 days after a lease of a year or more expires, no action is allowed until a year after expiration. The tenant then must leave or continues on the same terms, and so on from year to year.
Is there a September 1 deadline for Kentucky farm leases?
No Kentucky statute sets a September 1 farm lease deadline. That rule exists in states such as Iowa and South Dakota. Kentucky leases should state their own notice date.
What is the average farmland cash rent in Kentucky in 2026?
Across the 86 of 120 Kentucky counties with published 2026 USDA NASS cash rent data, the median county rent for non-irrigated cropland is $127 per acre. Oaken's Kentucky cash rent map shows every published county, its rank and its change from 2025.
How does Oaken help manage Kentucky farmland leases?
Oaken keeps every Kentucky 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.