The cropper must exercise reasonable care and diligence in planting, cultivating and gathering a crop. If the use of the land by the cropper results in injury to the crop or to the land, the landlord may be able to recover damages from the cropper. Violation of verbal agreements is difficult to prove and is often reduced to arguments in court. Additional testimonies from witnesses to the verbal agreement may be helpful but do not conclusively prove what was contained in the original agreement. When they make a written agreement, prospective landlords and tenants are forced to think about and agree upon the essential considerations of the leasing and operating of a farm.
Differences of opinion can arise unexpectedly.
Time tends to make verbal agreement s hazy while a written agreement is always available for reference and recall. There is also the problem of proving the elements of the verbal agreement since the survivor cannot testify when the other party to the agreement is dead. There are only a few minimum requirements for a written lease. The basic lease provides the duration of the lease, names and addresses of the parties, the legal description of the property, rental rates, arrangements for payment of rent, and the signatures of each party. In addition, special agreements between parties regarding insurance, repairs, fences, land restrictions, improvements and the landlord's right to re-enter should be included.