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Handshake isn't enough to solidify cattle grazing leases

Oral agreements on grazing and pasture leases aren't very helpful in case of a problem

April 8, 2015

3 Min Read

Many grazing leases or pasture leases are verbal agreements, but for the protection of both parties involved a written lease is ideal.

"Sadly, the most common situation is two guys in a pasture who come to an oral agreement," said Tiffany Dowell-Lashmet, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service law specialist. Dowell-Lashmet presented recently at the 2015 Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Convention in Fort Worth, Texas.

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"Some of you may not think you need a written lease, but you will wish you had one if there is ever a problem. Additionally, in order to be legally enforceable, any real estate lease for a year or more has to be in writing."

She advised to have limits in a lease. For example, if you lease property, be clear on what you are leasing.

"If the lease is for grazing and you want to reserve hunting rights, you need to have that spelled out," she said. "If the landowner wants to reserve the right to go in and inspect anything, then the landowner has to specify that in the agreement."

She also advises to consider having stocking-rate limits specified in the lease, particularly when drought conditions prevail. A pasture lease also should specify which tracts are included in the agreement.

"A legal description is good, but you may want to include additional information as well," she said. "For example, if you want to lease a specific pasture, but not the peach orchard in the back of the property, you need to spell that out."

Related: 11 Things That Need To Be In A Cow Lease/Share Agreement

The lease should also include provisions specifying who is responsible for maintenance, such as pasture shredding, fence repair, barn maintenance and other items that could become issues.

Tips on bull leasing >>

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Tips on bull leases
For cattle producers leasing bulls, Dowell-Lashmet advised to include liability issues in the agreement. For example, if a bull is injured during the time he is leased, it is a good idea to have provisions in the agreement to handle that situation.

"One term to consider when leasing out a bull is whether it might be prudent to require a monetary deposit from the lessee that will be returned upon the bull's safe return at the end of the lease."

Finally, she said there should be inclusion of penalties and consequences for late payment in the lease agreement.

Related: Livestock grazing leases: Stocking, rates need to be in agreement

"There should be a set penalty for late payment," she said. "These provisions can be drafted in a variety of ways. For example, you could have a set late fee of so much for each day, and once the fees add up to a certain amount, the lease will terminate."

Finally, it's a good idea to have a lawyer review the bull lease agreement.

"Prior to taking it to your lawyer, you can do some things that will save you some money," she said, like making the draft agreement. "The lawyer will not have to start from scratch and will likely bill fewer hours to simply review and revise," she said.

For additional information on agricultural law, visit Dowell-Lashmet's TAMU blog.

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