Alejandro Plastina, assistant professor, wrote that "Cash rents declined slightly in 2019 but won’t offset lower prices for farmers who are renting land," in an article about the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s “2019 Cash Rental Rates for Iowa 2019 Survey,” (FM 1851) which was published in the May edition of Ag Decision Maker newsletter.
“It will be tough to break even with these cash rents if you are renting land." Plastina said the survey can serve as a reference point for negotiating rental rates, but should not be blindly used in leasing contracts.
“These are averages so I always say that they should not be used as off-the-shelf truths to avoid negotiations between tenants and landowners,” Plastina said. “Both parties have to figure out what actually works for them in terms of the land quality, historic yields, what kind of improvements are being made to the land and other factors unique to their situation.”
The survey was also cited in a May 28 RFD-TV Market Day Report.