parties is to cooperate with each other. If the cows are due to calve before the lease expires, and if the condi- tions on the ranch have not been substantially changed, then it would be a breach of the lease for the tenant to remove the cows from the leased ranch before calving. Another example of rent is the tenant’s agreement
to provide all the labor for maintaining the existing perimeter fences for all leased acres during the term of the lease, including the clearing of brush, piling and burning of brush piles. When wire or posts need to be replaced, the landlord would purchase the needed fencing supplies at his own expense. The tenant would provide all labor to rebuild the fences.
Surrender of property The tenant has the legal right to use the ranch only
as long as the lease is in effect. At the end of the lease term, the tenant must give up
possession of the ranch and return it to the landlord. This makes it clear that when the lease is over the
tenant must remove himself and his cattle from the ranch, return the gate keys to the landlord and leave the property in at least as good condition as it was when the tenant moved in. Should the tenant refuse to leave the ranch, then
the landlord can go to court and fi le a lawsuit to have the sheriff eject the tenant from the property. Many times the surrender-of-property clause will be added on to the Term paragraph. Here is a sample of the language that might be in a
lease to document surrender of property: At the conclu- sion of the term of this agreement, tenant shall remove all his cattle and other personal effects not belonging to the landlord from the lease property so as to be com- pletely gone from the lease premises by the last day of the leased term.
Usage The landlord must provide the rented use of the
ranch to the tenant. This is called “quiet enjoyment” by the courts. But the tenant gets to use only as much of the ranch as has been provided for in the lease. There can be different uses of a ranch – grazing, re-
moval of sand and gravel, oil and gas development, etc. If the lease provides for only grazing, the landlord
might be legally authorized to lease the oil and gas rights to a third person. If that happens, the grazing tenant would have the
right only to graze his cattle on the ranch. The com- pany with the oil and gas lease would have the right
94 The Cattleman September 2014
only to drill for oil. Questions can arise when there is a confl ict between the grazing tenant and the oil and gas tenant. Here is a sample of the language that might be in
a lease to document the use of the land: Tenant shall use the lease property for the sole purpose of grazing cattle. Landlord reserves the right to lease other activi- ties to other persons that do not interfere with tenant’s grazing activities.
Operate in a good, workmanlike manner Many grazing leases have some provisions relating
to use of the property in a good, workmanlike manner, or words to that effect. The provision usually contains wording that if the tenant does not use the ranch in a good, workmanlike manner, he breaches the lease and must move off the land. In the case of Texas Rural Communities v. Avary
1938 Texas Court of Civil Appeals 113 SW.2d 597, the landlord claimed the tenant had not used the property in a good, workmanlike manner because he planted row crops across terraces in the land in a way that would cause erosion. Here the Texas Supreme Court said courts usually
do not like clauses that have forfeiture of a lease as the consequence for improper workmanship. But if the lease contained such a provision, and the parties to the lease agreed to it, then courts would enforce those provisions. The rancher tenant lost the case. The Avery case went on to say that Texas A&M ag-
ricultural professors and other ranchers can testify as experts about the extent and values of damage, work- manlike manner, etc. Here is a sample of the language that might be in a
lease to document the concept of operating in a good, workmanlike manner: Tenant agrees to be a good steward of the land by an-
nually improving pasture quality through good manage- ment while minimizing brush and weed encroachment. The tenant may also be required in the lease to
take reasonable steps to attract wildlife such as quail and turkey. The primary aim here is to develop and maintain pastures that are best adapted to the region.
Not commit waste The tenant cannot do anything that destroys the
value of the land, unless he has permission from the landowner. If a tenant does destroy part of the land he is leasing, what can the landowner do about it? The fol-
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