Cropland cash rental rates across the region were up again this year.

Survey data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service show Ohio with the highest average cash rental rate at $185 an acre, followed by Michigan at $152 an acre.

Pennsylvania’s average cropland cash rental rate is $108 an acre, while New York’s average is $83.50 an acre. The lowest cropland cash rental rate is in West Virginia at $47 an acre.

Renting irrigated land costs most in Massachusetts — home to a large cranberry-growing industry — at $295 an acre, followed by Michigan at $264 an acre, Maryland at $225 an acre and Ohio at $217 an acre.

Rented pastureland costs most in Maryland at $53.50 an acre, and it costs least in West Virginia at $14 an acre.

Still less than average

The average cropland cash rental rate in the U.S. is $160 an acre — up $5 an acre from last year — while the national average for rented irrigated land is $245 an acre, up $8 an acre from last year. Nonirrigated land is at $146 an acre, up $4 an acre from last year.

Rented pastureland averages $15.50 an acre, up slightly from $15 an acre last year.

Ohio is the only state in the region where the average cash rental rate and average nonirrigated cash rental rate is higher than the national averages. Irrigated cash rental rates in Massachusetts and Michigan are higher than the national average.

On the flip side, West Virginia is the only state in the region where the pastureland rental rate is less than the national average. Most states are much higher.

How the survey is done

The NASS Cash Rents Survey was conducted from mid-February to June. About 280,000 farms and ranches across the U.S. were contacted for their total acres operated and acres rented for cash for each land-use category. 

The Farm Service Agency uses cash rent county estimates to determine market-based rates in administering USDA programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Program. Other state and federal government agencies, universities and research organizations use these data for other forms of economic analysis.

How to use

You can access the tool and do your own research at nass.usda.gov.

You will need to specify “geographical regions” and “years.” In most cases, you will be able to get irrigated and nonirrigated cropland rental rates, as well as pastureland rental rates.

County-level cash rental rates will be released later in August.

Other resources

There are many resources out there if you’re interested in renting land, or want to lease some of your land to another grower.

This Farm Progress article from 2017 has some good tips on how to negotiate a land rental rate.

Some states do their own cash rental surveys. The Western Ohio Cropland Values and Cash Rents survey is online, but it has not been updated yet for this year. The results are summarized for western Ohio, with regional summaries for northwest Ohio and southwest Ohio.

NY Farmland Finder has an online checklist for pricing rented acres, as well as a guide for leasing farmland.

Iowa State Extension’s Ag Decision Maker also has a handy guide for computing cash rental rates.

Here are the 2024 cash rental rates by state in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, as well as Michigan and Ohio:

Connecticut

Delaware

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Vermont

West Virginia