2014

PIERCE COUNTY FARMLAND

CASH RENT STUDY

Greg Andrews 1

Explanation Cash Rent Study

Pierce County Farmers will spend nearly $9.8 million in 2014 on 65,000 acres of rented cropland (2014 estimate derived from most recent census). As a percentage of all county cropland, 38 percent is rented. The Pierce County UW-Extension Office annually receives over 300 inquiries about cropland rental rates. This study is intended to provide accurate information for landlords and tenants who negotiate leases.

In December 2014, approximately 500 landlords and tenants were randomly selected and sent a mail questionnaire. This sample consisted of 215 parcels and represented 15 of the 17 Pierce County Towns. The overall response rate to the survey was 43 percent. Among the respondents, 49% were tenants, 41% were landlords and 10% identified both roles.

The rental rate study should be used as a guide rather than an absolute. Rental rates are reflective of competition for the land, commodity prices, input costs, land ownership costs, productivity of the soil types, existing soil fertility, field size, and slope of the land. Since grain yield is the leading variable in farmland rental rates, a ratio of rent price paid per bushel of corn yield is provided on the opposite page.

The 2014 Pierce County Farmland Cash Rent Survey found a range in rental rates of $50 to $421 per acre. The median farmland rental value for Pierce County was $146 per acre, down 3% from 2013 yet still 45% above 2012. Of the towns with sufficient reports, Rock Elm posted the highest median rental rate in Pierce County ($206 per acre). River Falls had the lowest median rental rate in Pierce County ($84 per acre).

Educational Resources and Lease Forms for Leasing Farmland

In many states you must have a written lease. A written lease offers opportunity for discussion between landlords and tenants, creates a way to iron out details in the lease, provides a way for dealing with the unexpected and assures conservation expectations are contained in the lease.

The North Central Farm Management Extension Committee released their new leasing educational materials and lease forms in December 2012. These resources are very useful when negotiating leasing of farmland and other farm assets. The Ag Lease 101 website contains all of these newly developed forms and resources. The lease forms and resources can be obtained from the Pierce County UW-Extension Agriculture website at: http://pierce.uwex.edu/agriculture/ or by contacting Greg Andrews at 715-273-6781 or by email at: greg.andrews@ces.uwex.edu

I wish to acknowledge the dedicated assistance of Sandy Radkey, Pierce County UW-Extension Support Staffer and Amy VanDeBrake, Pierce County UW Extension Ag Educator.

1 Greg Andrews, Professor, UW-Extension, Pierce County Agriculture Agent

Pierce County Land Rent Summary January 2014
Township	Number of Parcels Reported	Median Cash Rent ($/Acre)	Range of Cash Rentals Reported ($/Acre)	Average Corn Yield in Bushels Per Acre 2013 info	Ratio Price Paid per Bushel of Corn Yield
Clifton	20	139.84	65-250	156.65	0.89
Diamond Bluff	0
El Paso	22	117.18	75-230	158.57	0.74
Ellsworth	20	154.18	65-421	151.39	1.02
Gilman	24	107.87	60-200	140.11	0.77
Hartland	17	196.27	75-421	156.10	1.26
Isabelle	0
Maiden Rock	9	166.76	125-200	162.13	1.03
Martell	3	123.15	85-130	133.33	0.92
Oak Grove	6	137.63	70-180	156.67	0.87
River Falls	10	84.22	50-125	131.50	0.64
Rock Elm	12	206.43	60-345	164.67	1.25
Salem	8	169.44	70-421	150	1.12
Spring Lake	25	101.94	50-150	153.22	0.67
Trenton	9	155.66	55-225	175.75	0.89
Trimbelle	12	169.57	70-350	190.30	0.89
Union	18	165.67	90-275	169.13	0.98
County Totals/Avg.	215	$146.39	$50-421	157	.91

Cash Rent Survey of Cropland by Corn Yield Potential
Corn Yield Bushels/Acre	Range in Rental Rate $/Acre	Median Cash Rent $/Acre
>200 bu.	70-200	135.85
185-199	75-350	172.17
170-184	55-421	172.95
155-169	60-325	154.43
140-154	40-250	132.30
125-139	50-145	111.08
110-124	65-125	94.97
<110bu	70-160	118.71

Contact:	Greg Andrews, Pierce County Agriculture Agent

UW-Extension, 412 West Kinne Street, P O Box 69, Ellsworth WI 54011

715-273-6781 or email at: greg.andrews@ces.uwex.edu

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