Iowa State University recently released their 2019 cash rental rates.
According to the report, Dallas County saw a decrease in the overall cash rent per acre for corn and soybean. The average is $215 per tillable acre, which down from $220 per acre last year. Greene County saw a drop from an average of $232 in 2018 to $229 per tillable acre this year. As for Guthrie County, the average tillable per acre rate is $227, which is an increase from $212 per acre in 2018.
ISU Field Agronomist Mike Witt explains how this information impacts the overall farm economy.
“It gives farmers a little bit more leeway when it comes to their margins and their bottomline. Fixed costs of rental rates are usually one of the things they can’t adjust so if it goes down a little bit that means they’ve got a little bit more to play with when it comes to some of their other input costs of nitrogen or seed so that they can make that up.”
The statewide average also went down this year compared to 2018. The average tillable per acre cash rent is $219 compared to $222 per acre last year. The averages are calculated together, when considering the highest, middle and low quality of land from the respondents. There were 1,262 farm operators, landowners, agricultural lenders, professional farm managers and realtors, as well as other professions that took the annual survey.
To see the full report, click the link below.