Lease paperwork · Keep it simple
A farm lease you can actually read
Most ground in this country changes hands on a handshake and a memory. A handshake is a fine way to agree, and a terrible way to remember. Below: every lease type explained, and a fillable, printable two-page cash lease that says what it means. It takes about five minutes, and you both sign it.
Fill in the lease · Notice to end a lease, and the date to serve it by
By Sigurd Lindquist, CCA · state notice rules rechecked Oct 15, 2026
Straight cash
A fixed dollar amount per acre, period. Corn makes 240 or hails out at 60 and the rent doesn’t move.
Fits when: the tenant wants full upside and can stomach full downside; the owner wants a check they can plan on. The simplest lease there is. It’s the one below.
Flex on price
A base rent plus a bonus if price beats a trigger: e.g. base $250/ac, plus a share of the value above a set fall price. Yield risk stays with the tenant; price upside is shared.
Fits when: the owner wants a piece of a rally without farming; the tenant wants a lower guaranteed base in rough years.
Flex on price × yield
Rent is a set percentage of actual gross revenue (actual yield × actual price), often with a floor and a cap. The truest “share the year you actually had” cash lease.
Fits when: both sides trust the yield number. Put the yield-proof method (monitor, scale tickets, APH) in writing.
Crop share
The owner takes a share of the crop itself (commonly around a third to a half, varying by region and by who pays which inputs) instead of cash. Both sides ride price and yield together.
Fits when: the owner is still a farmer at heart, wants skin in the game, and can market grain. More bookkeeping and more conversations.
Custom farming
Not a lease at all: the owner pays a fixed fee for the fieldwork and keeps the entire crop, and the entire risk. The mirror image of straight cash.
Fits when: the owner wants to stay “actively engaged” (which can matter for taxes and programs, ask your accountant) without owning iron.
CASH FARM LEASE
A simple fixed-cash lease · one crop term · plain terms both sides can read
1 · Parties
This lease is between (“Owner”), of , and (“Tenant”), of .
2 · The land
Owner leases to Tenant approximately tillable acres in County, , commonly known as (FSA farm no. ), for agricultural use.
3 · Term
The term begins and ends . This lease does not automatically renew except as state law provides (see §11).
4 · Rent
Tenant will pay cash rent of $ per tillable acre (× ____ acres = $______ total), payable:
- $ on or before , and
- $ on or before ,
by . Rent unpaid ten (10) days after it is due bears interest at the lesser of % per year or the maximum rate state law allows.
5 · Tenant agrees to
- farm the land in a good and workmanlike manner, following any applicable conservation plan;
- control weeds and prevent waste; leave crop residue consistent with good practice;
- apply no long-term-damaging practice and haul no outside waste onto the land;
- not assign this lease or sublet any part of the land without Owner’s written consent;
- surrender the land at the end of the term in as good condition as reasonable use allows.
6 · Owner agrees to
- pay the real-estate taxes and any assessments on the land;
- warrant quiet possession: Tenant holds the land for the term against anyone claiming through Owner.
7 · Improvements & repairs
No permanent improvement, removal, or alteration (buildings, fence, tile, trees) by either party without the other’s written consent, which also states who pays and who owns it afterward.
8 · Insurance & liability
Each party carries their own liability insurance and insures their own property; neither is responsible for loss or injury caused by the other’s negligence. Tenant’s crops and inputs are Tenant’s to insure.
Page 1 of 2 · Owner initials ______ Tenant initials ______
CASH FARM LEASE, continued · page 2 of 2
9 · Entry
Owner (or Owner’s agent) may enter at reasonable times to inspect the land, without interfering with field operations.
10 · Hunting & recreation
Hunting and recreational rights stay with Owner unless initialed here to grant them to Tenant: Owner / Tenant
11 · Termination & holdover
Either party may end this lease at the end of the term by written notice delivered by the deadline state law requires. Where no statute sets a deadline, notice is due at least days before the term ends. If Tenant holds over with Owner’s consent, the holdover continues on these same terms as state law provides.
12 · Default
If either party materially breaks this lease and does not cure within thirty (30) days of written notice, the other party may pursue any remedy state law allows, including termination.
13 · Additional terms
Government program payments (ARC, PLC and similar) go to .
14 · Signatures
This is the entire agreement; changes must be in writing and signed by both parties.
A G S I S T · agsist.com/cash-lease · free tools for working farmers · educational sample, not legal advice; attorney review advised
Pick your state and the day the lease ends. You get the date the written notice has to be in their hands by, how to deliver it, and a one-page notice to print and sign. It uses the state you picked above.
Is a handshake lease legally binding?
Oral farm leases are recognized in many states, but enforceability varies and multi-year oral deals can run into the statute of frauds. The better question: when memories differ in three years, what does the handshake say? A short written lease protects both sides, especially the friendship.
When do I have to give notice to end a lease?
Entirely state-dependent. In states with a statutory deadline, written notice delivered late means the lease runs another full year whether anyone wanted it to or not. Iowa’s September 1 rule is the best known. Verify your state’s rule with extension or an attorney.
Cash, flex, or share: which pays the owner more?
Over a long run they tend to converge; in any single year they differ exactly by who carried the risk. Straight cash pays the owner the same in a drought and a bumper year; flex and share pay more in the good years because the owner shared the bad ones. Pick by risk appetite, not by last year’s outcome.
What’s a fair rate for my county?
USDA NASS publishes county cash rent annually. AGSIST cash rent by state shows every published county, its history, and rent as a share of realistic gross, the number that decides whether a lease actually cash-flows.
Why is this lease so short?
Because leases fail at the coffee shop, not in court. A lease both parties have actually read beats a 20-page one neither has. The additional-terms box is there for what your situation genuinely needs; your attorney can tell you what your state requires beyond it.
Can I mail the notice to end an Iowa farm lease, and when does it have to go out?
Yes, by certified mail, but it has to be mailed before September 1, not on it. If you hand it over instead, the other party signs an acceptance of service on or before September 1 (Iowa Code 562.7).
In Kansas, what happens to the wheat if I give notice after my tenant already planted it?
Kansas law protects that crop. When notice comes after a fall seeded grain crop is planted on ground prepared the normal way, the tenancy on that part ends the day after harvest is done or August 1, whichever comes first. The rest of the farm still ends March 1 (K.S.A. 58-2506).
How much notice does Wisconsin want to end a year-to-year farm lease?
Wisconsin law says a year-to-year farm tenancy needs at least 90 days' written notice, and it ends at the end of the rental year, even if rent is paid more often than once a year (Wis. Stat. 704.19).
The standard educational references on farm leases are the North Central Farm Management Extension Committee’s lease guides and forms at aglease101.org, and your state extension service’s farm-management office. USDA county cash rent data: agsist.com/rent. This page’s sample lease is original AGSIST text written for readability; it is not reviewed by an attorney and is not legal advice.