By Shannon Thompson
In Iowa, generally speaking, a farm lease automatically continues from year to year unless a landlord gives the tenant a written notice of termination by September 1st for the following crop year. However, under current law, this automatic renewal rule does not apply to cropper tenancies, nor does it apply to farm tenancies with an acreage of less than forty acres.
Senate File 316, signed by the Governor and scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2013, changes these rules by effectively limiting the forty acre exception to only those tenancies of less than forty acres where an animal feeding operation is the primary use. Thus, land owners accustomed to giving termination notices only for farm leases of forty acres or more will now need to give termination notices regardless of the size of the leased acreage, unless their tenant is a cropper or is operating an animal feeding operation on less than forty acres.
If you have questions regarding the changes in farm lease law please contact Shannon P. Thompson or Kevin C. Papp.
Categories: Landlord-Tenant Law