Northwest Iowa — This Thursday, September 1st, is the deadline for farmers’ oral and written agreements on cash rent or lease arrangements, and ag industry officials anticipate a large number of renegotiations for 2017.
Rex Wilcox, is a farm management specialist, and he says after three years of losses, operators need cash rent concessions to shrink operating costs. Income has been falling, he says, while input costs remained steady.
Wilcox says some landowners have been adjusting rents downward the last few years with lower commodity prices. However, with a bumper crop expected and corn prices very low, they may need to lower rents again for the year ahead.
Many multi-year leases will expire this year, which may mean some ground will see new renters. Wilcox says he’s also hearing about some operators trying to break long-term arrangements.
Wilcox expects farmers to work hard to re-negotiate because if they lose that rental land, they may never get it back. If possible, he says they might want to delay agreements to see how the crop turns out or if there is a rebound in grain prices this winter.
