Question:
Other than looking at the ISU farm rental rate by county, Louisa County only had a few reported rates, where else can I look?Answer:
There are very few places to find county-level farm rental rate information. Iowa State has conducted a long-running survey on farm rental rates. That data is provided in the ISU Cash Rental Rate Map (https://www.card.iastate.edu/tools/ag-risk/cash-rental-rates/) and the Historical County Cropland Rental Rates article (https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/pdf/c2-11.pdf) on the Ag Decision Maker website. USDA also conducts a survey to capture county-level rental rates. That data can be accessed at https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Cash_Rents_by_County/.
Beyond that, it is up to individuals to do some homework to calculate potential rental rates. The extension farm management team at ISU has outlined seven different ways to compute rental rates in the appropriately titled “Computing a Cropland Cash Rental Rate” (https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c2-20.html). You could also explore having a flexible farm lease that annually adjusts to changing conditions (Flexible Farm Leases: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c2-21.html). The vast majority of ISU Extension’s guidance on farmland leasing can be found on Ag Decision Maker (https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wdleasing.html). The extension farm management team also conducts Farmland Leasing meetings in many counties across Iowa in July and August of each year, updating participants on rental rate trends and discussing issues related to farmland leasing.
