Changes in average rent across counties and land quality
There was considerable variability across counties in year-to-year changes, as is typical of survey data, but 68 out of the 99 Iowa counties reported decreases in average rents for corn and soybean acres.
All land qualities reported similar decreases in average cash rents. High-quality land experienced a 3.4% decrease, from $328 per acre in 2024 to $317 in 2025. Medium-quality land experienced a 2.5% decrease, from $278 per acre in 2024 to $271 in 2025. Low-quality land experienced a 3.0% decrease, from $232 per acre in 2024 to $225 in 2025.
The report also shows typical rents for irrigated, alfalfa, grass hay, oats, pasture, corn stalk grazing and hunting rights by crop reporting district. New information in the 2025 report includes crop reporting district averages for land in organic crop production.
Using the survey information
Survey information can serve as a reference point for negotiating an appropriate rental rate for next year. However, rents for individual farms should be based on productivity, ease of farming, fertility, drainage, local price patterns, longevity of the lease and possible services performed by the tenant. Three major factors with the potential to influence future cash rents are crop prices, government payments and land values.
The survey presents typical dollars of rent per bushel of corn and soybean yield for each county, based on the county average yield for each crop during the last five years, and row crop CSR2 index point. This year, the rent per bushel ranged from $0.95 to $1.88 for corn and from $3.11 to $6.20 for soybeans, with overall averages for corn and soybeans of $1.39 and $4.67, respectively. The statewide average per CSR2 index point was $3.38, with a range of $2.32 to $4.78.
An important factor considered by landowners when negotiating cash rents is the return on their farmland investment. Calculations based on the ISU Land Value Survey and Cash Rental Rates for Iowa Survey show the evolution of the ratio of average cash rents to average land values in Iowa. The calculations suggest that the average return on investment for landowners who cash rent their land to operators has followed a declining trend since the early 1990s, stabilizing at around 3% after 2010. Note that this ratio does not measure net returns as ownership costs, including real estate taxes, are not considered in its calculation.
Survey resources
The annual survey was carried out by ISU Extension and Outreach. This information would not be possible without the 1,492 responses on typical cash rents from producers, landowners and ag professionals across the state. Every survey response is greatly appreciated. The full publication is available for download.
AgDM File C2-10, Cash Rental Rates for Iowa 2025 Survey, provides detailed results by county and Crop Reporting District. Archived publications from previous years are also available on this webpage, and Ag Decision Maker File C2-11, Historical County Cropland Rental Rates, reports historical county averages from previous years.
Other resources available for estimating a fair cash rent include the AgDM Information Files Computing a Cropland Cash Rental Rate (C2-20), Computing a Pasture Rental Rate (C2-23) and Flexible Farm Lease Agreements (C2-21). All of these fact sheets are on the Ag Decision Maker Leasing page, and include decision tools (electronic spreadsheets) to help analyze individual leasing situations. An online decision tool can be used to visualize the cash rents by land quality in each county by year, and compare trends in cash rents for a county versus its CRD and the state average.
For questions regarding the cash rent survey, contact the authors. For general leasing questions, contact the farm management field specialist in your area. Farm management specialists will once again present farmland leasing programs across the state in July and August for an in-depth assessment of trends and issues impacting Iowa tenants and landowners.
Source : iastate.edu