For Release January 11, 2003

Critical Date for Agricultural Leases Is Approaching

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

In recent years, surveys have shown that over half of all agricultural land, crop and pasture, is leased, and the amount may be as high as two thirds. Which means that leased land is very critical to most agricultural operations. There are about as many different types of leases as there are combinations of landlords and tenants. There are cash leases, there are variable cash leases and there are many different forms of share leases.

Everyone always wants to know what the "normal" lease is and the truth is that there is no normal lease. Kansas statutes allow for a great deal of latitude in how a landlord and renter establish a lease. The law is very specific in allowing written as well as oral leases. They recognize that for many landlords and tenants, their word and a handshake is all that is needed.

The statutes are also very specific about the steps that a landowner must go through to terminate an oral lease OR a written lease with no other specified termination date. The law states that an oral agricultural lease runs from March 1 to March 1, is valid for one year only but automatically renews each March 1st, under the same terms, unless proper notice is given to the tenant. Proper notice must be given in writing, it must be given at least 30 days prior to March 1 and it must specify that the lease terminates on March 1. The only exception is land that was sown to fall seeded crops which in this area means wheat. On those acres sown to wheat, the lease terminates the day after the last day of harvest or August 1, whichever comes first.

Since this year is a leap year, 30 days prior to March 1 is January 31. If you want to terminate the lease you must present your notice in writing, preferably certified mail, on or before January 31 and set the termination date as March 1, except for land planted to wheat. If you wish to change the terms of your lease, you need to establish that prior to January 31st and come to agreement prior to January 31st. Why? If you can't come to terms before January 31 and you don't serve notice of termination by that date, the lease continues as it was! As a tenant, you don't have to give 30 days notice, but it would appear that you do need to notify the landowner prior to March 1 that you will no longer be leasing the property as of March 1 or you are bound by an oral agreement. This holds for both cropland and pastureland.

A few other questions regarding leases comes up regularly. A lease, even an oral lease, is part of the property and continues if the landlord dies or the land is sold. If a tenant dies, there is a little more questions about the outcome, but for the death of a landlord or a sale of the property, the lease continues intact.

The noxious weed law states that the party that either owns the land or supervises its use has the duty to control noxious weeds. It is generally assumed that since the tenant is granted exclusive supervision of the land that they are responsible for noxious weed control. However, if the noxious weeds are not controlled, and the county takes action, the costs will be assessed against the property, hence against the landlord. As for fences on pasture, the law appears to be silent except that control of the cattle is the responsibility of the livestock owner. I'll let you take it from there.

The Extension Office is hosting a pasture lease meeting on January 22, starting at 7 p.m. at the 4-H/Sr Citizens Building at 1107 South Spring Valley Road. There is no charge for this meeting and I would encourage all pasture owners and renters to attend!

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