(Orange City) — Farmland rental rates look to be holding steady or showing some signs of decline, that according to an Iowa State University Extension Farm Management Specialist. Melissa O’Rourke says landowners and farmers are now negotiating terms for the upcoming crop year. She says our neighbors to the east project a slight decline in farmland rental rates.
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O’Rourke says whether farmland rental rates trends go up or down, or hold steady, depends largely on what the previous conditions and terms were for the lease agreement. O’Rourke says she still hears of instances where a tennant and landlord had entered a long-term lease agreement and the rental rates are extremely low.
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The ISU Farm Management Specialist says there have been times in the recent past when farmland rental rates were given a “bump up”. But she says 2014 may be a year when profit margins are tighter.
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O’Rourke says most farmland rental agreements today are scheduled for a one-year term with review of the yield performance, future projections, and current and future commodity prices.
