Iowa farmland cash rental rate falls

The average Iowa farmland cash rental rate fell this year when compared with 2013 - the first decline since Iowa State University Extension and Outreach began the annual survey in 1999.

'The average estimated cash rent for corn and soybean land in the state for 2014 was $260 per acre, a decrease of $10 per acre or nearly 4 percent from last year,” said William Edwards, a retired ISU Extension economist who directs the survey.

'Significantly lower crop prices for the 2013 crop and lower price forecasts for this year's crop have tempered farmers' optimism about prospective profits.”

Edwards said average cash rents were lower in all nine crop reporting districts except for the southeast district, which showed no change.

'The largest decrease was in north central Iowa, $24 per acre, where a wet spring last year reduced yields and prevented some acres from being planted,” Edwards said. 'Grundy County had the highest average rent in the state, $330 per acre.”

East central Iowa reported an average cash rental rate of $273 per acre in 2014, which is down from $284 per acre in 2013. Scott County recorded the highest average rent at $318 per acre, Linn County reported an average rent of $280 per acre and Johnson County posted an average rent of $249 per acre.

Northeast Iowa reported an average crop ground rental rate of $277 per acre. Average farmland cash rental rates in the district ranged from $312 per acre in Dubuque County to $242 per acre in Chickasaw County.

The ISU Extension survey results track with a decline in the average value of Iowa farmland reported in March by the Iowa Farm & Land Chapter No. 2 Realtors Land Institute. The value of an average acre of high quality Iowa farmland dropped from $11,674 in September 2013 to $11,104 in March 2014.

Information about rents for individual farms was not collected for the ISU Extension survey. The agency surveyed farmers, landowners, lenders, real estate brokers, and professional farm managers to collect the data.

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