Ames, Iowa — Iowa State University Extension’s annual survey shows the first statewide decline in cash rental rates for farmland since 2019.
Rental rates went up nine percent in 2023 and were stable last year. Ann Johanns, a program specialist with ISU Extension, says the average drop this year is eight dollars per acre.
The survey does not seek information about cash rental rates for individual farms. Farm operators, landowners, realtors, and professional farm managers are asked instead about cash rental rates for cropland in their counties. Cash rental rates for corn and soybean fields dropped in 68 of Iowa’s 99 counties.
The biggest decrease was in south central Iowa, where rental rates for cropland fell nearly seven percent. The statewide average rental price per acre for rented farm ground was $271 this year. Landowners rent nearly six out of every 10 acres of cropland in Iowa.
