Inherited Iowa Farmland From Out of State: Your First 90 Days

Days 1–30: Find out what you actually have

Gather the paperwork. Ask the executor, family members or the attorney handling the estate for:

• The deed, or at least the legal description of the land
• The current lease, if there is a written one
• The last two property tax statements
• Any letters from the county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office
• Any conservation contracts, such as CRP (Conservation Reserve Program)
• The insurance policy covering the land

Look up the parcel yourself. Every Iowa county assessor has a free online property search. Search by the owner's name or parcel number to see acres, assessed value, and the farm's CSR2 soil rating, the best single measure of how productive the land is.

Learn who farms it. Find out the tenant's name, how long they have farmed the land, and whether rent has been paid for the current year. Many Iowa farm leases are informal, and some are never written down.

Days 30–60: Make contact and protect the basics

Introduce yourself to the tenant. A short, friendly call or letter goes a long way. Let them know who the new owners are, who their contact is, and that you're not planning sudden changes while you get organized. Long-time tenants often know more about the farm than anyone in the family.

Understand the lease calendar. Iowa farm leases renew automatically each year unless written notice is given. Under Iowa Code section 562.7, notice to end a farm lease must be served by September 1, and the lease then ends the following March 1. If you inherited the farm in October, you likely can't change the lease until the year after next unless the tenant agrees. Knowing this date prevents a lot of surprises.

Keep the property taxes current. Iowa property taxes are paid in two installments each year, and penalties apply if they go unpaid after September 30 and March 31. Find out who has been paying them, and make sure the county treasurer knows where to send future statements.

Check the insurance. Confirm the land still has liability coverage in force, and that the policy reflects the new owners once the estate transfers.

Contact the county FSA office. If the farm participates in USDA programs, the FSA office needs updated ownership information once the estate settles. The tenant usually handles program sign-ups, but the office tracks the owners too, and conservation contracts can carry obligations that stay with the land.

Days 60–90: Decide how you want to own it

Talk with your co-owners. If siblings or cousins inherited together, agree on the basics early: who makes decisions, how income and expenses are split, and how everyone stays informed. Families that write this down argue less later.

Check whether the rent is in line. Compare your rent with Iowa State University's annual survey for your county and land quality. In 2026 the statewide average was $270 per acre, but county averages ranged from $173 to $332. A rent below average isn't automatically wrong, since drainage, field size and a good long-term tenant all matter, but it's worth knowing where you stand before the September 1 notice date.

Ask your CPA about the tax basis. Inherited property generally receives a new tax basis tied to its value when the previous owner died. That matters if you ever sell, so a date-of-death appraisal is often worth getting early. Your CPA can tell you what applies to your situation.

Decide how hands-on you want to be. Some owners manage everything themselves. Some hire a professional farm manager, who typically charges a percentage of gross income and makes day-to-day decisions. Others keep control but want a system that tracks rent, deadlines and documents for them. There is no wrong answer, only the one that fits your family.

Your first-90-days checklist

• Deed or legal description located
• Current lease found (or confirmed there isn't a written one)
• Parcel looked up on the county assessor's site, including CSR2
• Tenant identified and contacted
• This year's rent confirmed as paid
• Lease notice date (September 1) on your calendar
• Property tax payer and mailing address confirmed
• Insurance confirmed in force
• County FSA office contacted about ownership records
• Rent compared with the ISU county average
• CPA consulted about basis and a date-of-death appraisal
• Co-owners agreed on who decides what

Where Kinacres fits

Kinacres helps out-of-state owners keep this list under control year after year. We benchmark your rent, track your lease, tax and USDA dates, keep a shared document vault for the family, and send a plain-English report on your land every year. You stay in charge of your farm; we make sure nothing slips.

Start with the free Rent Check to see how your rent compares with your county's 2026 average.