{"id":7079684,"date":"2026-10-08T03:52:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T03:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079684"},"modified":"2026-10-08T03:52:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T03:52:25","slug":"renting-ill-farmland-is-slightly-cheaper-in-2026-but-costs-remain-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7079684","title":{"rendered":"Renting Ill. Farmland is Slightly Cheaper in 2026 &#8230; But Costs Remain High"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n                    \t<!-- Instaread player added by Frobes - 18sep2026 --><\/p>\n<p>After four years of increases, Illinois\u2019 average cropland cash rent dipped slightly for the second consecutive year in 2026, according to newly released U.S. Department of Agriculture data.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/republish.spectralwebservices.com\/r\/c38b99af-c1c5-4248-99d8-c52880937e49\/renting-illinois-farmland-is-slightly-cheaper-in-2026-but-farming-it-remains-costly.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"display: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/republish.spectralwebservices.com\/r\/c38b99af-c1c5-4248-99d8-c52880937e49\/renting-illinois-farmland-is-slightly-cheaper-in-2026-but-farming-it-remains-costly.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Cash rents are what a farmer pays a landowner to use their land, and it\u2019s typically expressed in the USDA\u2019s National Agricultural Statistics Service\u2019s database as the \u201cannual cost per acre.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the dip, the average cash rent rate remains \u201cnear historically high levels,\u201d according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fb.org\/intel\/markets\/farmland-values-climb-to-new-highs-as-cash-rents-hold-near-records?ref=investigatemidwest.org\"><u>August analysis<\/u><\/a> by the American Farm Bureau Federation.<\/p>\n<p><!--kg-card-begin: html--><br \/><iframe class=\"flourish-embed-iframe\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 600px;\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/30417360\/embed\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\"><\/iframe><br \/><!--kg-card-end: html--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cCash rents remain highest in states where land supports high-value crops or consistently strong yields,\u201d the AFBF added.<\/p>\n<p>Cash rent for an individual farm is determined by a <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.illinois.edu\/news-releases\/determining-cash-rent-illinois-farmland?ref=investigatemidwest.org\"><u>variety of factors<\/u><\/a> like supply and demand, county averages, soil quality, average crop yields and how profitable the farm is.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why Illinois, with its highly productive soil, ranks fourth in the nation for the highest rents behind California ($331 average per acre), Hawaii ($280), and Iowa ($271). Illinois\u2019 rate is $261.<\/p>\n<p>Reported 2026 crop prices were higher than expected, which improved the return outlook for 2026 and 2027, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/farmdocdaily.illinois.edu\/2026\/09\/illinois-cash-rents-in-2026-and-outlook-for-2027.html?ref=investigatemidwest.org\"><u>a September analysis by farmdoc<\/u><\/a>, a policy research project at the University of Illinois. However, those returns are still below long-term averages, and the authors concluded these rent numbers are unlikely to change soon.<\/p>\n<p>Rent on irrigated cropland in Illinois is highest at an average of $275 per acre, and the rent for pastureland is the lowest at $53 an acre. Non-irrigated cropland closely matches the overall average of $261.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to high rents, farmers face rising fuel and fertilizer costs driven by the war in Iran, further squeezing profit margins, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation and farmdoc daily.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>Nikoel Hytrek is the Illinois State Government Accountability Reporter working out of Springfield, Illinois.\u00a0<\/em><em>Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. Visit us online at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/investigatemidwest.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">www.investigatemidwest.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>                                                <!-- intentIQ code added by Forbes - updated to new code - 16jan2024 --><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: 20px auto; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 34px; position: relative; width: 100%;\">\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSponsored Content on <strong>AG<\/strong>Daily&#13;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- \/1030735\/agdaily.com\/Native_below_the_article --><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(d, s, id) {\n  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n  js.src = \"\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.8&appId=320025038337187\";\n  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After four years of increases, Illinois\u2019 average cropland cash rent dipped slightly for the second consecutive year in 2026, according to newly released U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Cash rents are what a farmer pays a landowner to use their land, and it\u2019s typically expressed in the USDA\u2019s National Agricultural Statistics Service\u2019s database as the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7079685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12026],"tags":[11373,13594,19155,1521,4773,25552,14162,9502],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7079684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-cheaper","tag-costs","tag-farmland","tag-high","tag-ill","tag-remain","tag-renting","tag-slightly"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Renting Ill. Farmland is Slightly Cheaper in 2026 ... 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