Hello Mark, 

Thanks for your question. Based on the info from 2025, the average cash rent for farmland is $141 per acre. The 5-year average comes out to around $131 per acre. These are good starting points, but there are other things that factor in to that final price point. Ease of access to the field, production history (if it has been in crop production), whether there is drainage tile or not, etc. One recommendation I've heard before is that you should at least make sure you cover your property taxes with your rent. Above that is where you'd want to consider other factors into the rental rate. 

For a template, this is a link one of our state specialists sent me in the past that has some sample leases: https://aglease101.org/doclib/ 

Under Lease Forms, you'll see a cash farm lease template. Not that you have to use that exact template, but it provides a good frame work to start with. 

OSU also has some nice resources including this bulletin on creating an enforceable farm lease: https://farmoffice.osu.edu/sites/aglaw/files/site-library/LawBulletins/FarmLeaseEnforceability.pdf

And this one which is a check list of things to include in your lease: https://farmoffice.osu.edu/sites/aglaw/files/site-library/LawBulletins/FarmLeaseChecklist.pdf

This webpage in general may have other helpful resource for you: https://farmoffice.osu.edu/our-library/farm-leasing-law

For the water/drainage side of your question, I'd recommend reaching out to our local Soil and Water Conservation District. That is something they should be able to provide some info on. Here is a link to their website: https://www.lorainswcd.com/

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have additional questions. 



I cannot recommend or endorse any specific companies or contractors, but I can try and provide you with a list. 

On the Lorain County Soil and Water website, they have a list of contractors that help assist with permanent conservation practices. One of the categories on their list is tile drainage. You can find that list here: https://www.lorainswcd.com/contractors 

Just click on "contractor list" and that should take you to their document. 

I hope this at least gets you pointed in the right direction. Let me know if you need anything else.