Rental prices for farmland dip slightly in 2025

The average rental rates for Iowa farmland decreased by about 2.9% this year, to about $271 per acre, according to an annual survey conducted by the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

It was the first decline in cash rents since 2019, and comes after a peak of $279 per acre the past two years.

Crop reporting districts experienced differing results in cash rents: from a decrease of 6.9% in Crop Reporting District 8 (South Central) to an increase of 2.8% in Crop Reporting District 9 (Southeast). Every Crop Reporting District showed a decline, with the exception of the Southeast Crop Reporting District, which reported an average cropland cash rent 0.8% ($2) higher than its previous peak of $252 in the 2023 survey.

Decreases in average rents for corn and soybean acres were reported in 68 of Iowa’s 99 counties. The Extension noted variability across counties in year-to-year changes, but said that has been typical in survey data through the years.

This year’s analysis was built on1,492 usable responses about typical cash rental rates in their counties for land producing corn and soybeans, hay, oats, and pasture. The responses represented about 2.5 million cash-rented acres across the state, with 44% coming from farm operators, 37% from landowners, 8% from professional farm managers and real estate workers, 6% from agricultural lenders and 5% from other professions and respondents who chose not to report their status.

All land qualities reported similar decreases in average cash rents. High-quality land experienced a 3.4% decrease, from $328 per acre in 2024 to $317 in 2025. Medium-quality land experienced a 2.5% decrease, from $278 per acre in 2024 to $271 in 2025. Low-quality land experienced a 3.0% decrease, from $232 per acre in 2024 to $225 in 2025.

Additional details in the survey can be found here: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/pdf/c2-10.pdf