Question for those oldsters

Going back many years (decades) there were "tenant farmers" who owned no land, only their equipment & personal property.  They lived on the farm they operated for an absentee landowner.  Sometimes the stay was for many years, and some moved on to another place after a year or two.  My question is does that concept still exist-anywhere?  This was in eastern NE and I'm sure it happened throughout the farm belt.  If it's entirely gone, when did the practice stop.  Thanks for any input.

I think if you were a farmer that owned A LOT OF GROUND, you could not farm it all yourself... this was a way to get more people to work the ground in exchange for a place to live and pay.......... Proabably some forms of it today, but many disapeared when we got 3-4-500 HP tractors and huge Combines and large farms could be self sufficient with a hand full of workers.... ??

Spend summers on my Uncles farms and they were share croppers in WI - rented farm and house for share of what was produced from crops .
In fact one uncle had milk cows along with crop to feed them but grandparents owned 6 of the cows he milked after they moved off their share cropped farm into old farmhouse just out of Ellsworth WI .
 One uncle ran 300 acre farm on share crop by Spring Valley WI along with milk herd of 70 cows - Got hurt and gave up the place sold everything except for 10 young stock and one Case tractor .Bought 80 acres near Rush River WI , 10 years later 50 milk cows and 400 acres 
 Other uncle share cropped 80 acres by Ellsworth , then moved down near Spring Valley WI and shared cropped 120 Acres - Farm across the street came up for sale and he went to try to buy it - ended up the owner of the farm he was share cropping bought it and planted trees and put rest in set-aside , so rather then getting the land to farm Uncle ended up on short end - moved a couple years later and bough ta small acreage near Plum City WI  

Edited by Coke-in-MN - 9 hours 49 minutes ago at 4:10pm

            In the 60's -early 70's I would spend the summers with my grandfather on his 200 acres farm in Alabama . He did have a  2 allis  chalmers tractor but would use the share choppers that lived in the older farm houses  through out the farm . These houses and barns were there  working farms that were behind in taxes when his father bought that acreage in the 30's 40's .                                                                                                           He would ride around to each house and tell them that he would need them and anyone else to hand hoe the peppers , cotton crop   or in the hay field . Some had trucks/car or he would pick them up at the road and my grandmother and aunt would show up with a meal at dinner time and feed everyone . Some older women would babysit others small kids while the mothers  and older kids would  do field work . They were paid at the end of the days work with cash .                                                                                       Most worked small jobs in the farms  , chicken houses around the area and each farmer could use them when needed . Each year there were less and those old homes were used for hay storage or torn down . 

It is just about all cash rented these days. Many farm houses are 100 years old or more, and the older out buildings don't cut it because youneed volume to make it in todays world. There is more risk for the renter with cash rent, but landowners love it. When the old 50/50 plan was used then the landowner got involved in selling his 50% of the crop, and paying for 50% of the inputs. Cash rent your land, and get a lump sum payment and you are finished. Then you can take off for Florida, or Arizona, or Texas every winter and play golf every day, or play cards every day, or just goof off with friends every day. It is not for me cause I get bored pretty quick and my wife misses the grandkids. We have some local farmers that are paying pretty high rent these days. A favorite trick is to go ahead and rent at a high price, and then beg for a reduction later. It works sometimes.

My Dad share cropped his farming career (WWII veteran - 2010 on 750 acres? Usually 60/40 deals. Tenant provided all equipment, labor, & fuel. Tenant & landlord (both) same 60/40 split the inputs (seed, fertilizer, herbicide, & harvested grain), but landlord paid 100% of lime.
Most landlords sold their 40% grain when it was drove over the elevators scales. Not much storages by landlords. Dad stored more & sold some to cash flow.
Winter wheat harvested in June was a great cash flow. It usually paid for real estate tax bills on owned 150 acres, house & buildings. Leftover wheat cash paid some of annual operating loan. All straw & hay bales 60/40 too.
End of year, harvest over, time to settle up & plan for next year. February frost seeded clover over winter wheat ground. After wheat was harvested, clover get baled 1-2 times before fall frost. Winter Livestock manure spread over poor soils & clover. Most every corn acre was spring plowed then disk/harrowed, then planted. Row cultivators did 1 pass on corn & 2 passes on soybeans. Weed hooks got escapes.
Think some landlords acres (by original landowners kids or grandkids now) are still actively crop sharing? Some went to cash rent. Depends on situation. Brother took over from Dad, so just here say presently.

Edited by AC7060IL - 6 hours 2 minutes ago at 7:57pm