Farmland cash rent tops $300 an acre in 2 Iowa counties

Cash rent for Iowa cropland jumped again this year, according to a survey released Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The average cash rent statewide is $255 per acre this year, an increase of $20 from $235 per acre in 2012. Average cash rent of $200 per acre or more was recorded in 84 counties this year, compared with 79 counties in 2012.

Two counties, Ida and Grundy, averaged more than $300 per acre for non-irrigated cropland cash rents in 2013. Grundy County had the highest average cash rent in 2012, at $299 per acre.

Fifteen counties had average cash rents less than $200 per acre this year, compared with 20 counties in 2012.

Linn County recorded average cash rent of $251 per acre this year, up from $228 per acre in 2012. Average cash rent was $217 per acre in Johnson County this year, up from $211 per acre in 2012.

The central region of Iowa has the highest average cash rent at $273 per acre, up from $257 in 2012. The south-central area of Iowa has the lowest average at $185 per acre, compared with $173 last year.

The USDA survey mirrors the results of Iowa State University Extension's cash rental rates survey released in May. The average cash rent statewide was $270 per acre this year, up from $252 per acre in 2012.

Average cash rent paid for pasture in Iowa, at $49 per acre, was up $3 from 2012, according to the USDA. Average cash rents ranged from $30 per acre in Webster county to $77.50 per acre in Harrison and Pottawattamie counties.