Land lease problem

I have just started farming within the last few years, and at the same time growing my "operation".  After my grandmother (on my moms side) passed away is about the time I really got into it seriously.  She always had a friend of my grandfather (he passed away in 81) farm the ground and they were always good to her, but most of her kids did not care for the farmer.  Anyway I picked up the small patch she had at the end of last year and had a good crop of corn off of it this year.  Well I now have picked up the larger 20 acres across the road that the previous farmer had always farmed.  My parents (the executors) informed the previous tenants appx the last week of September that I would be farming it.  They in turn let my parents know that they had already purchased the seed, nh3, and fertilizer for the following year and they would decide how best to go about the change.  Well we hadn't heard anything for a couple weeks so I stopped and talked to him yesterday and he informed me that since they were not notified in time that they figured $2000 would be about right to make it right.  I was under the impression that unless the ground was going to be planted in wheat that the notification date was Nov 1. 

Eldon ?????  Which part??

I don't know how much difference it makes, but it is crop share (1/3 - 2/3) instead of cash rent.

As I was talking to him he had the gull to ask me if this was just something my parents came up with or if the rest of the family even knew about it (which they have for months now and I have thier support on).

I found Iowa's notification as Sept 1, but I can not seem to find Illinois.  I have always heard Nov 1, but that doesn't mean its the right date.

Time to spend a few bucks with a lawyer for a consultation before you have to spend a lot of bucks with a lawyer to defend a lawsuit.

 If there is not a written contract then you went about it right by letting them know in plenty of time in advance.  I always thought Nov 1 was the date also.  I would say you owe them nothing.  If they insist on farming it next year, change the terms to a very generous cash rent agreement on your terms and see how bad they really want to farm it another year.

As far as if there is a contract, I don't know on that.  My parents would know as mom has spent quite a bit of time going over grandmas papers and sorting things out with a lawyer after her passing (genreal items not neccesarily the land).

Joe,

You need to find out the land laws and rent laws in the state of Illinois.  In Iowa, it doesn't matter if it is a written contract or a verbal contract, you still have to give the tenant notice by the 1st of September if you do not want them to farm it the next year.  Then things like plow back, lime etc have to be worked out and a fair value assigned.  There is the possibility that he fertilized it last year for 2 crop years, that is done quite frequently around here in some rotations. 

   I have been on both sides of the situation through the years.  It is hard sometimes to give up a piece of land that you have farmed for a long time especially if it is close by home.   I lost over 500 acres one year in a sealed bid opening for cash rent.  I would hope losing 20 acres won't put these guys in bad shape.  Life goes on.  But, the bottom line is, if you don't own then nothing is guranteed forever.

SD is Sept 1 for verbal leases. Cancellations of verbal leases have to be in writing. No Cancellation, then lease automatically renews. Written leases go by whats written in the lease.

Honestly. 20 acres. Give him one more year so he can't do any badmouthing of your family. 20 acres of trouble now may cost you a hundreds of acres gig in the future. Letting them stay on now puts the ball back in their court. Gives people around the area a whole year to see how your old tenants handle the departure. If they are pricks I guarentee you others will take note. One guy around here turned off his straw chopper and dumped 30 ft of bean straw in windrows  on 1200 acres he was legally cancelled from. News like that spread around the whole county. He never has picked up any more rented land.

October 31st is the deadline date via the U of I extension office.  We were also told to send certified mail.  How does certified mail work when the fellow is not home during the day normally.

They drop a card in their mailbox that says "come to the post office, you must sign for this". (sort of, basicly thats what it says in a nutshell).