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farmland lease

Ohio Farmland Leasing Update webinar
By: Peggy Kirk Hall, Tuesday, July 26th, 2022

Is it time to start thinking about your farmland lease for next year?  We think so!  There are new legal issues and updated economic information to consider for the upcoming crop year.  That’s why we’ve scheduled our next Ohio Farmland Leasing Update for Thursday, August 11 at 8 a.m.  Join the Farm Office team of Barry Ward, Robert Moore and Peggy Hall for an early morning webinar discussion of the latest economic and legal farmland leasing information for Ohio. 

Here are the topics we’ll cover:

  • Ohio’s new statutory termination law for verbal farmland leases
  • Using a Memorandum of Lease and other lease practice tips
  • Economic outlook for Ohio row crops
  • New Ohio cropland values and cash rents survey results
  • Rental market outlook

There’s no cost to attend the Zoom webinar, but registration is necessary.  Visit https://go.osu.edu/farmlandleasingupdate for registration.  And if you’re already thinking about your next farmland lease, also be sure to use our farmland leasing resources on https://farmoffice.osu.edu.    

Ohio Farmland Leasing Update photo with farm field
By: Peggy Kirk Hall, Tuesday, February 01st, 2022

Winter is a good time to review farm leases, for both economic and legal reasons.  We'll provide you current information to help with the farmland leasing process in our Ohio Farmland Leasing Update webinar on February 9, 2022 from 7 to 9 p.m.   Barry Ward, Leader of Production Business Management for OSU Extension, will address the economic issues and our legal team of Peggy Hall and Robert Moore will provide the legal information.  

Our agenda will include:

  • Current economic outlook for Ohio row crops
  • Research on cash rent markets for the Eastern Corn Belt
  • Rental market outlook fundamentals
  • Negotiating conservation practices
  • Using leases in farmland succession planning
  • Ohio's proposed law on providing notice of termination
  • Ensuring legal enforceability of a lease

There is no fee for the webinar, but registration is necessary.  Register at https://go.osu.edu/farmlandleasingupdate.

Ohio Farmland Leasing Update photo with farm field
By: Peggy Kirk Hall, Friday, January 07th, 2022

Winter is a good time to review farm leases, and current information is critical to that process.  That's why our Farm Office team is offering its Ohio Farmland Leasing Update, a webinar on February 9, 2022 from 7 to 9 p.m.   I'll be joined for the webinar by co-speakers Barry Ward, Leader of Production Business Management for OSU Extension, and attorney Robert Moore.  

On the legal side, we'll share legal information to help parties deal with addressing conservation practices in a leasing situation, using leases in farmland succession planning, Ohio's proposed new law about providing notice of termination, and ensuring legal enforceability of a lease.  On the economic side, Barry Ward will provide a current economic outlook for Ohio row crops, research on cash rent markets for the Eastern Corn Belt, and rental market outlook fundamentals.  We'll also overview farmland leasing resources.

There is no fee for the webinar, but registration is necessary.  Register at https://go.osu.edu/farmlandleasingupdate.

Posted In: Contracts, Crop Issues
Tags: farmland lease
Comments: 0
By: Caty Daniels, Wednesday, January 15th, 2014

Author: Peggy Kirk Hall, Asst. Professor, Agricultural & Resource Law

A farm lease is a valuable transaction for landowners and farm operators alike, so it is important to ensure that the lease conforms to Ohio’s legal requirements. Here’s what Ohio law requires for creating a legally enforceable lease:
 
The lease must be in writing. Enforcing a verbal farm lease is very difficult in Ohio due to our “Statute of Frauds.” The statute states that a lease of land must be in writing to be legally enforceable in Ohio. Despite this law, many verbal farm leases do exist. If a problem arises under a verbal farm lease, the law would not uphold the verbal lease unless a party could prove that the court should grant an exception from the Statute of Frauds writing requirement. This is a risky position and forces a party to go to court simply to try to prove that there is a valid lease.
 
The lease must identify the land. Include the legal description, address and acreage of the land parcel.
 
Both parties should sign the lease. Ohio law requires that the landowner must sign the lease, and Ohio’s Statute of Frauds states that a lease agreement is not enforceable against a party who did not sign the lease. So that the lease is enforceable against both landlord and operator, both should sign the lease.
 
The lease must properly name the parties and all owners. Be sure to list all owners, using the proper legal names or business names. In the case of joint landowners, such as a married couple or partnership, both owners must sign the lease. If an LLC or similar business entity owns the land, the business entity should be the named party entering into the lease, and the individual who signs
the lease on behalf of the entity must have legal authority to do so.
 
A lease over three years must be acknowledged. Parties to a lease of more than three years must have their signatures acknowledged and certified by a notary public or local official such as a judge, mayor or clerk of court.
 
The parties should file a memorandum of lease. Ohio law requires that the lease transaction be filed with the county recorder in the county where the land exists, which gives notice of the lease arrangement to potential purchasers and others. Rather than requiring the parties to divulge all details of the lease, the law allows the parties to file a shortened “memorandum of lease” that must include names and addresses of each party, a legal description of the land, the lease period and rights of renewal.
 
The terms of a farmland lease are also important. For information on terms and other lease issues, refer to our other resources on farmland leasing.
Posted In: Property
Tags: farm lease, farmland lease, enforceable lease
Comments: 0
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