Lease dates for land rental contracts

[farawayguy]

Wondering about the dates most people use for their land lease contracts. I took over the handling of this a few years ago by modifying an existing lease, but the dates on this lease have never really made sense to me. This lease term begins on Mar 1st each year and expires on Mar 28th the following year. I'm thinking it should be altered to begin something like Dec.1st and expire the following Dec 1st. Is there a standard for this? Or does it even matter?

[Shaggy98]

The only piece of ground I cash rent runs from April 1 thru March 31. 1/2 rent is due on April 1 and the last half is due Aug 1. Keep in mind we aren't in corn country so our lease agreements might be arranged different than most.

[farmerguy89]

I'm arranged similarly to shaggy.

[buckfarmer]

I have January 1 as the start of my leases. And payment is due different times through the winter and early spring. I also have written in that if bad weather delays harvest on the last year of the lease I have as long as I need to get it done. I've only gone past January 1 one time in one field. Pluss I think I'll be able to renew all my leases when they are up.

[farawayguy]

Thanks for the input! I'll just leave these lease dates as they are - sounds like they're pretty standard.

[Jim Meade / Iowa City]

My understanding is that in Iowa, historically leases and land sales have been 1 March.  Very little field work is done before March but soon after oats is sown if possible.  Early in March you could move the livestock and machienry - later it got muddy and busy.  By the end of the winter, you had fed out most of the grain and hay if you were lsoing the lease.

So, for Iowa, 1 March makes sense.

Notificastion is another issue.  IN Iowa, you must notivy by 1` September fo rthose leases that continue if you want to alter or change them.

[sw363535]

Cash rents in Ks are often written for  Jan 1.

For unwritten farm leases---- " handshake" leases of all kinds of disputes, Kansas uses the March 1 date.

If notification of changes has not happened by then the new lease continues as before and is assumed.

[Husker-J]

Usually sometime in Feb, or March 1st around here.   Often, crop land rented comes with grazing rights for cattle, and the best way to graze cattle is to wait until the ground starts to freeze a bit, and get them off before thaw, which usually happens sometime in Feb.

If you figure 1 cow per acre per month (loose rule of thumb) that would allow 80 head to graze on a quarter section for all of December and January.

[Kay/NC]

In Virginia, we learned that October 1 was the date to make or brak a lease by for the doming crop year. I asked in NC, and was told it is more of a gentleman's agreement, than a hard and fast rule.

We still peg our lease on the one place we rent here to October first. Simpler to have everything dome due together.

[Husker-J]

I was always told that if you are breaking a lease, the 'proper' time to do it is by the end of the year, but I do not know if that is by law, or gentleman's agreement.

I do know of people who got their notice they weren't going to get grass to graze as late as mid March, but they just accepted it, and didn't take it to court so I can't say if they had any legal standing against such short notice.