It is hard to believe but we have reached about halfway through the growing season for our crops here in the Midwest. The corn is starting to tassel, and the soybeans are starting to fill out. Wheat harvest is in full swing, and everyone is hoping for rain but with those Midwest thunderstorms comes the all too well-known wind and hail. With all the nice weather and summer activities going on the last thing on people’s minds is harvest, end-of-the-year decisions, and definitely not next year’s crop.

But time moves fast and there are decisions that we need to be making now as landowners that will affect next year’s outcome.

For example, if you are on an ORAL lease and thinking about making a tenant change or are thinking about selling your property this fall or next spring, you are required to give notice to your tenant in writing by September 1st of this year. In Nebraska, the oral lease period runs from March 1st to February 28th of the next year. Per Nebraska statute, you must give six months’ notice to your farm tenant to terminate a lease (September 1st) otherwise the tenant has the right to farm the next cropping season.

Even if there is a possibility that you want to sell your property or make a change in tenant on an oral lease it is a safe practice to give notice in writing. This does not mean that your tenant can’t farm your property next year. It may be a good point to switch to a written lease at that point if you don’t decide to change tenants or sell.