Obtaining an Agricultural Lease on State Trust Lands

An agricultural lease on state trust lands can be obtained through the following:

Assignment

If you will be obtaining an agricultural lease from a current lessee, the transfer of the lease must be filed with the State Land Office

If the lease has a collateral assignment, it must be:

1. Released by the current lessee, or
2. Assumed by the new lessee with the collateral holder.

For more information, contact Agricultural Manager Samantha Romero (505) 827-5876  or Lisa Perraglio at (505) 827-5775

Open Acreage

• Due to the high demand and current use on surface estate of State Trust Land for agricultural leasing, available open acreage is limited.
• If an agricultural lease is canceled or expired, it will be placed into open acreage where potential lessees may seek to obtain the acreage through an open acreage application. Our District Resource Manager may identify other potential lessees which may result in the acreage be obtained through a competitive bid.
• If you are interested in locating open acreage available for leasing, please contact the Agricultural Leasing Analysts Luai Jaber (505) 476-0218.

Competitive Bid during Agricultural Lease Reissuance

During agricultural lease reissuance, a competitive bid may be placed on that lease. Once a competitive bid application has been submitted for a lease that is in the process for reissuance, our office will determine if the current lessee has protected the right to match any competitive bid or if a sealed bid process is needed.

If the reissuance contracts are not received by the first business day of October for the year the lease is to be reissued, it becomes open acreage and the land is then available for anyone interested to apply for an agricultural lease.

For more information on competitive bids, please contact Agricultural Leasing Manager Samantha Romero at (505) 827-5876.

Lease Renewals

Approximately one-fifth of the New Mexico State Trust Land grazing leases are renewed annually. Renewal applications are mailed out around mid-June. They need to be completed and returned to the State Land Office on or before 5:00 p.m. on Aug. 1 to protect the current lessee’s right to match a competitive bid. An instruction sheet is included with all lease renewals and applications to lease state trust land. Applicants are urged to follow the instructions carefully to avoid any problems.

Any application received after 5:00 pm on Sept. 1 will not be awarded to the current lessee if the State Land Office has received a competitive bid from another party. The lease renewal must be IN the State Land Office no later than 5:00 p.m. on Sept. 1 to preserve the option to participate in a sealed competitive bid process. Lease renewals received after this date will not be given the option to enter into a sealed competitive bid if a competing bid has been submitted for the lease.

Renewal contracts not received by Sept. 30 will result in the leases’ expiration and classification as open acreage. Any interested applicant may apply for New Mexico State Trust Land in open acreage. (Faxes and emails cannot be accepted.)

Anyone wishing to submit a competitive bid must obtain the necessary forms from the State Land Office and return the completed forms by Sept. 1.

For more information, please contact Agricultural Leasing Analyst Chelsea Gregg at (505) 827-5770.