(Ames, IA) — A new survey finds Iowa had the highest cash rent average for cropland this year at 233 dollars an acre, three dollars an acre higher than last year. Farmers across the U-S are paying an average of 141 dollar an acre to rent cropland. That’s up two dollars from 2020. Iowa State University Extension ag economist Wendong Zhang says cash rents closely follow farmland values. Zhang says Iowa has seen about 20 percent growth, evidenced by many of the auction prices as well as the expert opinion survey. He expects the farmland values and cash rents to remain high because the interest rate is still fairly low. Of the top five states, Iowa had the highest cash rent average followed by Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska and Minnesota.
