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Farmland rental rates soften going into 2020

Farmland rental rates continue to soften in many parts of the Midwest.

In Minnesota, Extension educator David Bau says their data shows a slight downward trend for most of the state.

“Crops vary as I go across the state, and that is showing up in the rental rates going into next year. If farmers had relatively good crops or poor crops, it has a big impact on 2020 rents.”

He tells Brownfield it remains difficult negotiating a fair arrangement.
“What their landlord wants for a return-on-investment and what the farmer can pay for rent (can be challenging because) the economics in farming are not very good right now with our corn and bean prices the way they are. So that’s a really tough negotiation point is what’s a fair rent for next year?”

Between 2017 and 2018, farmland rental rates ranged from 1.7 percent lower in southeast Minnesota to more than 13 percent higher in the east-central part of the state.

Bau says Minnesota Extension is hosting a series of farmland rental rate workshops this winter.