Hello Emily, 

Thank you for your question. For the cash rent, it is ultimately up to you to settle on a final ammount to charge, but I can provide some info to use as a starting point and some other things to consider. 

According to the USDA NASS average cash rents, for Lorain county, the average was $141 per acre in 2025. The 5-year average comes out to around $131 per acre. Now, as I said, you don't have to use this number, it can be used as a starting point. But you'll also want to take into consideration things like soil type, production history, whether the field has drainage tile, etc. Many things can be factored into that final value. 

For your other questions about who's responsible for insurance or procedures for handling disputes or other issues, these are things that should be included in the lease document. Leases don't have to be complicated, but the more detail you include, the better you are going to be able to enforce the terms of the lease and keep the management of the land in alignment with your goals and values. 

Here are some resources that may be helpful as you start to form your lease:

• https://farmoffice.osu.edu/sites/aglaw/files/site-library/LawBulletins/FarmLeaseChecklist.pdf
• https://farmoffice.osu.edu/sites/aglaw/files/site-library/LawBulletins/FarmLeaseEnforceability.pdf

If you have some more specific questions about aspects of your lease or if you have certain legal questions, I would recomend that you reach out to the folks in our ag law program. There may be certain questions that you'll need to connect with an ag attorney, or you might want to have one look over the lease to ensure it's valid, and they would be able to help you or point you in the right direction. The email for them would be <personal data hidden>.  

I hope that this is helpful. If you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly at <personal data hidden>.