Emblements

What Counts as an Emblement

The classic test is simple: was the crop planted and cultivated each season by someone's labor? Annual crops like strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, corn and cut sod usually qualify. Things that grow on their own or last for years, like timber, citrus trees, native pasture and perennial landscaping, are generally treated as part of the land itself, which is why they normally pass to the buyer with the fee simple title. The line between the two is not always clean, and the lease language often matters more than the general rule. That's a question for your real estate attorney, not a guess at the closing table.

Why It Shows Up in Commercial Deals

Florida's growth corridors run straight through working farmland. The fields along the I-4 corridor, the edges of Wesley Chapel and Lakewood Ranch, and the Lake County ag land are where tomorrow's industrial parks, build-to-rent communities and shopping centers get built. Plenty of those parcels are leased to a farmer right up to closing. If nobody deals with the crop, the buyer inherits a tenant with harvest rights and a development schedule that has quietly slipped.

A Hypothetical Plant City Example

A developer puts 40 acres of strawberry ground near Plant City under contract for a future distribution site. The seller leases the land to a grower on a year-to-year basis, and the grower sets plants in October for a winter harvest. The deal closes in December. In this example, the grower's crop is still in the ground and will be picked through March, and the lease is silent on what happens at a sale.

The developer has three choices: wait until the harvest is finished, buy the crop from the grower at a negotiated number, or, better, have handled it in the purchase and sale agreement by requiring the seller to deliver the land free of crops and tenants, or to credit the buyer. The developer who planned for it loses nothing. The developer who didn't loses a season. This is a hypothetical scenario, not a real transaction.

How to Protect Yourself as a Buyer

Ask early whether any part of the land is leased for farming, and get a copy of every lease. Walk the property. Build a crop clause into the contract: who owns the current crop, when the tenant must be off, and what happens if they aren't. Confirm the status in your due diligence period, and make it part of the closing checklist alongside the ALTA survey and title insurance review. If the land carries an agricultural classification for property taxes, understand how the change of use will affect the assessed value after you start building.

How to Protect Yourself as a Seller

If you're selling leased farmland, give your tenant the right notice under the lease, and be honest in the listing about the crop cycle. A clean exit date for the grower is worth real money to a buyer, because it removes a risk they would otherwise price in. We walk through that timing on every land listing we take through our disposition process.

From the Desk

I've watched a closing turn into a strawberry season. Nobody lied and nobody broke a rule. Somebody just forgot the ground was growing something. Ask about the crop before you sign, not after you fund.

What are emblements in real estate?

Annual crops planted and cultivated by a tenant's labor, which the law often treats as the tenant's personal property with a right to harvest.

Do emblements pass to the buyer when farmland is sold?

Not automatically. Depending on the lease and the circumstances, the tenant may keep the right to harvest, so the contract should address it.

Are citrus trees emblements?

Generally no. Perennial trees are usually treated as part of the land, while the annual crops a tenant plants are the classic emblements.

How do buyers handle a crop in the ground at closing?

By waiting out the harvest, buying the crop, or requiring the seller in the contract to deliver the land free of crops and tenants or to give a credit.

Why do emblements matter to commercial developers?

Much of Florida's future industrial, retail and residential land is leased farmland, and an unresolved crop can delay site work by a full season.

Who should review a farm lease before I buy?

A Florida real estate attorney, since lease language often controls who owns the crop and when the tenant must leave.

Article Summary

Emblements are annual crops a tenant farmer planted and may have the right to harvest after a lease ends or the land sells. Florida buyers of farmland slated for development should address the current crop in the contract to avoid losing a season.

Key Takeaways

• ✓Emblements are annual, labor-grown crops.
• ✓They're often the tenant's property, not the land's.
• ✓Trees and perennials usually pass with the land.
• ✓A crop in the ground can delay site work by a season.
• ✓Handle it in the purchase contract, not at closing.
• ✓Have an attorney read every farm lease.

About Michael R. Linton

Michael R. Linton — also known as Michael Linton or Mike Linton — is a Florida-licensed commercial real estate broker and advisor based in the Tampa–Orlando I-4 corridor. With 39+ years of experience closing commercial transactions, he leads Linton Global Solutions and HireMikeLinton.com, serving investors, owners, and tenants across all major commercial real estate asset classes — multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hotels & hospitality, land, mixed-use, special-purpose, self-storage, and life sciences.

Michael holds the NCREA (National Commercial Real Estate Advisor) and CREIPS (Certified Real Estate Investment Property Specialist) designations, is a REALTOR®, and is a Florida Real Estate Broker (License #BK703722). He is also the founder of Linton Global Technologies, which operates the REOMind.ai AI-powered REO disposition platform serving a network of banks.

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Works Cited

1. Legal Information Institute. "Emblements." Cornell Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/emblements. Accessed Sep 29, 2026.
2. Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. "License Verification: Michael R. Linton, Florida Broker BK703722." MyFloridaLicense.com, https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp. Accessed Sep 29, 2026.
3. Florida Legislature. "Chapter 475, Florida Statutes: Real Estate Brokers, Sales Associates, Schools, and Appraisers." Online Sunshine, http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0475/0475.html. Accessed Sep 29, 2026.

Disclosure & Compliance

Disclosure: This article discusses proprietary technology developed by Linton Global Technologies. Michael R. Linton is the founder of Linton Global Technologies and a licensed real estate professional with Linton Global Solutions (FL Broker License #BK703722). This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, or financial advice.

Compliance Statement: All CREDDS and REOMind.ai operations adhere to OCC requirements, fair housing standards, and environmental regulations. Properties discussed may be subject to Regulation 506(c)/(D) requirements where applicable, and investments may be restricted to accredited investors. Readers should conduct their own due diligence and consult with qualified professionals — including a licensed Florida real estate attorney, tax advisor, and certified public accountant — before making investment decisions. Past performance does not guarantee future results.