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Hunting Leases: How Kansas Landowners Can Make Money

Published: 10-09-21 Category: Leasing/Renting

Specializes in providing actionable insights into the commercial real estate space for investors, brokers, lessors, and lessees. He covers quarterly market data reports, investment strategies, how-to guides, and top-down perspectives on market movements.

This article was updated on 10/06/23.

Buying the land of your choice is only the beginning. Many Kansas landowners started out with the dream of owning their own piece of paradise in the Sunflower State without thinking about the other issues of owning land.

Thankfully, this problem has a solution: putting the land to work. A surefire way to do that without adding an exhausting amount of overhead is through hunting leases. It gives you the best of both worlds: The land is kept as wild as you'd like, and it earns you passive income.

Hunting in Kansas is on the rise: According to The Topeka Capital-Journal, the number of in-state and out-of-state hunters is rapidly increasing.

With such great demand for hunting, pursuing hunting leases as a passive income source for your land makes sense. The leasing concept is exactly the way it sounds: Instead of offering land for sale in Kansas, you are giving specific groups the right to hunt on your land in exchange for those groups sending you money for the privilege.

It's an agreement that has advantages for both parties. The hunting party doesn't have to try to search every year for new hunting lands, and you get a stream of income for land that is mostly unoccupied most of the time.

How Much Does an Acre of Land for Sale in Kansas Cost?

Should you go with a hunting lease or sell the land outright? To answer that question, we must address how much an acre of land for sale in Kansas goes for. Here's what you need to know:

Prices will vary widely by county. The principle of "location, location, location" still applies to land for sale in Kansas, even though we tend to think of real estate in terms of residential housing. Where your land is located in Kansas will determine the price per acre.
What the land is already used for. Is the land used for just hunting, or is there livestock? Improvements can change the price per acre dramatically.
What type of land is it? An acre of heavily wooded land has a different price than one that is mostly clear.

The intent of the buyer is one of the biggest drivers behind market prices for acreage. What one buyer is willing to pay to get their perfect piece of land for sale in Kansas depends on their motivations. A very motivated buyer is just as driven as a very motivated seller, which is important at the negotiation table. On average, land for sale in Kansas is averaging $1,900 per acre.

What Is a Hunting Lease?

A hunting lease is an agreement between a landowner and another party for hunting rights on the owner's land. Just like renting a house, the other party is paying a set amount to access the land for hunting purposes. The price can be set per acre or per hunting in the group.

Hunting Is a Way of Life in Kansas

Hunting is the intersection of sport, entertainment, and sustainability. It is also a way of life in Kansas, with plenty of hunters focusing on the meat that comes from a successful hunt. Understanding the motivations of people exploring hunting leases is important, as you will negotiate terms that are favorable to both parties.

When hunting leases are done well, they are a true "win-win" for both sides of the deal. Hunters want to access land consistently and not feel like they must beg for the opportunity. Landowners want to make the land productive without the need to invest in expensive farm equipment, livestock, or buildings on the property.

The Different Kinds of Hunting Leases

Hunting leases are kind of like snowflakes in the sense that no two are exactly alike. The landowner can build an agreement that works for them as well as the hunting group.

Here are a few different kinds of hunting leases to check out:

Species-specific leases. This is where the lease agreement covers hunting rights for only a specified species. If you have land with multiple types of game, this is perfect to give you a chance to hunt your favorite game but also still make money from letting others have access to hunt the other stuff.
Farm leases. Do you have some land that could easily grow crops? Small game love to hide in crops, and you can still give others access to that small game for passive income.
Timber leases. Sure, those trees are money-makers on their own, but have you considered including timbered land as part of a hunting lease?

Everything within a hunting lease is open to negotiation, so don't feel limited by these points at all. It's up to you to build an agreement that works for your specific goals.

The Land Leasing Process

Once you know that you wish to set up a land lease of some kind, it's time to put together the right plan. First, you will need to take stock of what land you wish to offer someone else for lease. How many acres are involved? What type of land is it (flat fields, farmland, heavily wooded, etc.)?

Making your land lease public brings attention to your goal, and interested hunters will contact you looking for more information. The two sides will come to the negotiation table to iron things out, including the responsibilities for each party. A set fee for the lease is established, and that will become the income you can expect from this agreement.

How Hunting Leases Generate Passive Income

The biggest motivation behind offering hunting leases is the desire for passive income. It makes sense: Income that does not require active handling is a great way to add to a real estate portfolio, turn unproductive land productive again, and shore up income across the board.

The way hunting leases generate this passive income is straightforward, as it's all contained in the lease agreement. The fee is set, the frequency is set, and the terms are set. This means that the group leasing the land from you knows when to pay and where to send the funds.

How to Protect Profits by Reducing Trespassing & Wildlife Damage

So, you've found a hunting party that's interested in entering into a hunting lease. Excellent, the work is done...right? Not at all! You still need to ensure that you are protecting yourself against trespassing as well as protecting the wildlife.

Here's how to do that:

Set the right terms upfront before contracts are signed. Spelling out the full terms in the lease agreement ensures that the hunting party knows what you expect out of them, what their responsibilities are, and that there are consequences for bad behavior.
Ensure that your property is well marked, including all of the outermost boundaries. Putting up "no trespassing" signs and documenting where they are is essential to protecting your space.
Take the time to research who is looking into hunting rights on your property. Asking the right questions ahead of time gives insight into the hunting party, their motivations, and their beliefs around wildlife stewardship.

Asking plenty of questions during the negotiation phase accomplishes several goals at once. One, you get to know who you're working with in terms of the hunting lease. Two, you make it clear to the other parties involved that you take stewardship of the land seriously. Finally, you get to set terms that are favorable for you and will protect your new passive income stream.

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