With high commodity prices and increased competition for land, it’s no surprise that cash rental rates are going up across the region.

According to data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Ohio has the highest average cash rental rate in the American Agriculturist region at $170 per acre, followed by Michigan at $140 per acre, and Maryland and Delaware with average cash rental rates of $117 per acre.

Pennsylvania’s average rate is $101 per acre, while New York’s is $77 per acre. The lowest cash rental rate average is in West Virginia at $41.50 per acre.

Renting irrigated land costs most in Massachusetts — home to a large cranberry growing industry — at $284 per acre, followed by Michigan at $243 per acre and Ohio at $208 per acre.

Rented pastureland costs most in Maryland at $51 per acre, and costs least in West Virginia at $12 per acre.

The U.S. average cash rental rate is $148 per acre, up $7 from last year. The national average for rented irrigated land is $227 per acre, up $10 from last year. Rented pastureland nationwide averaged $14 per acre, up slightly from last year’s $13 per acre.

How survey is conducted

The NASS Cash Rents Survey is done mid-February to June by obtaining rented acres and cash rental rates from a statistically representative sample of farmers and ranchers.  

The target population for the program is all farms and ranches with $1,000 or more in agricultural sales (or potential sales) who rent land from others on a cash rent basis. It’s unclear how many producers were contacted for this year’s survey, but in 2021, the sample size was 260,000 producers.

How to use

You can access the tool and do your own research at bit.ly/2tlaSjS.

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 Aug. 26.

Other resources

Of course, 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 will be released later this month. 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 2020 cash rental rates by state in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast:

Connecticut

Nonirrigated: $86 per acre, up from $78 per acre

Delaware

Average: $117 per acre, up from $114 per acre

Irrigated: $174 per acre, up from $166 per acre

Nonirrigated: $94.5 per acre, up from $88 per acre

Maine

Nonirrigated: $60 per acre, up from $59 per acre

Maryland

Average: $117 per acre, up from $111 per acre

Irrigated: $201 per acre, up from $197 per acre

Nonirrigated: $111 per acre, up from $103 per acre

Pastureland: $51 per acre, down from $53 per acre

Massachusetts

Average: $106 per acre, up from $97 per acre

Irrigated: $284 per acre, up from $260 per acre

Nonirrigated: $87.5 per acre, up from $78 per acre

Michigan

Average: $144 per acre, up from $138 per acre

Irrigated: $243 per acre, up from $232 per acre

Nonirrigated: $137 per acre, up from $131 per acre

Pastureland: $32 per acre, down from $35 per acre

New Hampshire

Average: $56 per acre, up from $54.50 per acre

Irrigated: $49 per acre in 2021

Nonirrigated: $51.5 per acre (no 2021 data)

New Jersey

Average: $84.5 per acre, up from $82 per acre

Irrigated: $136 per acre, up from $128 per acre

Nonirrigated: $75.5 per acre, up from $66 per acre

Pastureland: $46 per acre in 2021

New York

Average: $77 per acre, up from $69 per acre

Irrigated: $163 per acre, up from $145 per acre

Nonirrigated: $76 per acre, up from $68 per acre

Pastureland: $25 per acre (unchanged)

Ohio

Average: $170 per acre, up from $160 per acre

Irrigated: $208 per acre, up from $199 per acre

Nonirrigated: $170 per acre, up from $160 per acre

Pastureland: $25.5 per acre, down from $26 per acre

Pennsylvania

Average: $101 per acre, up from $94 per acre

Irrigated: $162 per acre, unchanged

Nonirrigated: $100 per acre, up from $93 per acre

Pastureland: $40.5 per acre, up from $40 per acre

Vermont

Average: $58.5 per acre, up from $52.5 per acre

Nonirrigated: $58 per acre, up from $52 per acre

West Virginia

Average: $41.5 per acre, up from $37 per acre

Pastureland: $12 per acre, down from $13.5 per acre