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 Leasing Analysts Samantha Romero (505) 827-5876 or Shawnee Suazo (505) 827-5770.

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 the Agricultural Leasing Manager at (505) 827-5732.

Lease Renewals