{
  "slug": "cash-rent-vs-crop-share",
  "title": "Cash Rent vs Crop Share Calculator",
  "heading": "Cash Rent vs Crop Share Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cash-rent-vs-crop-share",
  "summary": "Compare landlord and tenant returns under a flat cash lease vs a crop share.",
  "description": "Cash rent gives the landlord certainty and the tenant all the upside and risk; crop share splits both but requires the landlord to also share input costs, which many absentee landowners don't want to do. This calculator runs the same yield, price, and cost assumptions through both arrangements so a landlord or tenant can see which one nets more under a given scenario, and how sensitive that answer is to price and yield swings. A common structure is a 50/50 crop share with the landlord paying half of fertilizer, seed, and chemical costs, versus a flat cash rent per acre with the tenant bearing all input costs and price risk. Neither is universally better — it depends on how much risk each party wants to hold.",
  "formula": "Cash rent: landlord gets flat rent, tenant keeps (revenue − costs − rent). Crop share: landlord gets share of revenue minus share of shared costs, tenant gets the rest.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=cash-rent-vs-crop-share",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "acres",
      "label": "Acres",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 300,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "yieldBu",
      "label": "Expected yield",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 190,
      "unit": "bu/acre",
      "min": 10,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Expected price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 4.4,
      "unit": "$/bu",
      "min": 0.5,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "totalCostAcre",
      "label": "Total input cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 620,
      "unit": "$/acre",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "cashRentAcre",
      "label": "Cash rent rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 260,
      "unit": "$/acre",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "landlordSharePct",
      "label": "Landlord's crop share",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 50,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "tenantCashNet",
      "label": "Tenant net — cash rent",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "landlordCashNet",
      "label": "Landlord net — cash rent",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "tenantCropNet",
      "label": "Tenant net — crop share",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "landlordCropNet",
      "label": "Landlord net — crop share",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "revenuePerAcre",
      "label": "Gross revenue per acre",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Acres: 300",
      "Expected yield: 190 bu/acre",
      "Expected price: 4.4 $/bu",
      "Total input cost: 620 $/acre",
      "Cash rent rate: 260 $/acre",
      "Landlord's crop share: 50 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Tenant net — cash rent: -$13,200",
      "Landlord net — cash rent: $78,000",
      "Tenant net — crop share: $32,400",
      "Landlord net — crop share: $32,400",
      "Gross revenue per acre: $836"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter acres.",
      "Enter expected yield (bu/acre).",
      "Enter expected price ($/bu).",
      "Enter total input cost ($/acre).",
      "Enter cash rent rate ($/acre).",
      "Enter landlord's crop share (%).",
      "Read your tenant net — cash rent on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "acres": 180,
        "yieldBu": 115,
        "price": 2.64,
        "totalCostAcre": 370,
        "cashRentAcre": 155,
        "landlordSharePct": 30
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "acres": 300,
        "yieldBu": 190,
        "price": 4.4,
        "totalCostAcre": 620,
        "cashRentAcre": 260,
        "landlordSharePct": 50
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "acres": 480,
        "yieldBu": 305,
        "price": 7.040000000000001,
        "totalCostAcre": 990,
        "cashRentAcre": 415,
        "landlordSharePct": 80
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Which arrangement do tenants generally prefer?",
      "a": "Tenants who are confident in their yields and expect prices to hold or rise usually prefer cash rent because they keep 100% of the upside after a fixed cost. In a bad yield or price year, cash rent hurts them more since the landlord still gets paid in full."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why would a landlord choose crop share over a higher cash rent?",
      "a": "Crop share aligns incentives — the landlord benefits directly from good yields and shares the pain of a bad year, which can matter more to landowners who want a long-term stake in the farm's productivity rather than pure income certainty."
    },
    {
      "q": "How do you set a fair cash rent rate?",
      "a": "Most areas benchmark off USDA NASS county cash rent surveys and a target of 30-40% of expected gross revenue, adjusted for soil productivity index and drainage. Landlords and tenants should revisit the number annually as commodity prices shift."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can the split differ from a straight 50/50?",
      "a": "Yes, common variations run 40/60 or 60/40 depending on who supplies which inputs — a landlord contributing tile drainage or lime typically negotiates a larger share, while one contributing nothing beyond land often settles for less than half."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/farmland-cash-rent-cap-rate",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cover-crop-roi",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cattle-breakeven-price"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Cash Rent vs Crop Share Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cash-rent-vs-crop-share)"
}