Figure 1. Average Cash Rental Rates in Iowa, $/acre, nominal. Source: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Cash Rental Rates for Iowa Survey Iowa farmland resisted broader agricultural volatility with cash rental rates in 2026 according to a new report. This supports parts of the farm economy, but it presents challenges to others. According to the Cash Rental Rates for Iowa survey, trends stayed flat across the state at $270 per crop acre. The report focused on one st

American farmers and ranchers will hope something good comes out of the latest conversations between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China. U.S. agricultural exports to China cratered following President Trump’s higher tariffs. But U.S. producers want access to China’s 1.4 billion consumers, who represent approximately one in six people worldwide. That is a lot of potential mouths to feed and an enticing market for American goods at a time of surplus produc

Recent Midwest land sales highlight a wide range of values, from $4,300 to $26,600 per acre depending on land use, quality, and location. High-quality cropland in Iowa and Wisconsin continues to command premium prices, while recreational land values vary based on improvements, water access, and habitat features.

Stoughton, Wisconsin farm. Picture courtesy: Adam Crist, Peoples Company A 208-acre farm in south-central Wisconsin went up for auction at the end of April. And if you blinked, you might have missed what happened. The farm, located about 15 miles south of Madison in Stoughton, was offered in five tracts. It sold for a combined total of $4,554,884 or $21,946 per acre. Adam Crist, one of the Peoples Company agents handling the sale, said the pace and price left some of the atte

Farmland investing has been increasingly appealing to some people as an inflation hedge. But some potential investors have stayed away because they don’t want their money tied up for too long.

Franklin/Indiana/Clinton County, Indiana farm near Lebanon. Photo courtesy: Geswein Farm & Land. A large farm with high-quality soil located in west-central Indiana drew a lot of interest at auction this spring, but it wasn’t just soil and size driving the price. Its position inside one of the Midwest’s growing high-tech corridors helped push the sale well above typical farmland values. The nearly 602-acre property, marketed by Geswein Farm & Land, sold March 31st for an aver