2013

PIERCE COUNTY FARMLAND

CASH RENT STUDY

Greg Andrews 1

Explanation Cash Rent Study

Pierce County Farmers will spend nearly $9.4 million in 2013 on 65,000 acres of rented cropland (2013 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 2013, approximately 550 landlords and tenants were randomly selected and sent a mail questionnaire. This sample consisted of 282 parcels and represented 16 of the 17 Pierce County Towns. The overall response rate to the survey was 51 percent. Among the respondents, 56% were tenants, 44% were landlords and 14% 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 2013 Pierce County Farmland Cash Rent Survey found a range in rental rates of $30 to $400 per acre. The median farmland rental value for Pierce County was $151 per acre, up 49% from 2012 and up 66% from the 2011 study. Of the towns with sufficient reports, Clifton posted the highest median rental rate in Pierce County ($219 per acre). Spring Lake had the lowest median rental rate in Pierce County ($98 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.

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

Pierce County Land Rent Summary January 2013
Township	Number of Parcels Reported	Median Cash Rent ($/Acre)	Range of Cash Rentals Reported ($/Acre)	Average Corn Yield in Bushels Per Acre	Ratio Price Paid per Bushel of Corn Yield
Clifton	18	219.40	70-398	179.06	1.23
Diamond Bluff	4	184.21	125-200	168.50	1.09
El Paso	35	119.40	60-225	166.34	1.39
Ellsworth	24	169.87	50-400	170.44	.99
Gilman	27	115.07	30-200	144.41	.79
Hartland	19	166.92	75-400	164.32	1.02
Isabelle	1	125.00	125	no data given	-----
Maiden Rock	21	153.96	70-200	160.48	.96
Martell	6	130.59	100-150	158.17	.83
Oak Grove	13	174.60	60-205	164.46	.94
River Falls	18	102.34	50-165	143.22	.71
Rock Elm	23	159.90	60-325	161.13	.99
Salem	11	167.15	100-400	159.27	1.05
Spring Lake	12	98.06	40-150	158.25	.62
Trenton	10	170.30	50-225	161.60	1.05
Trimbelle	16	176.21	50-250	166.19	1.06
Union	24	151.87	75-200	168.04	.90
County Totals/Avg.	282	$151.40	$30-400	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.	85-398	236.87
185-199	85-330	206.29
170-184	75-400	169.72
155-169	30-325	128.60
140-154	50-200	128.04
125-139	55-150	109.47
110-124	50-120	81.84
<110bu	100-150	132.00

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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