2025 Iowa Cash Rental Rate for Forage Acres
Cropland rates drop while pasture rates climb.
June 17, 2025
by Erika Lundy-Woolfolk, Iowa State University Extension
The Iowa State University (ISU) Cash Rental Rates for Iowa 2025 Survey has been published, and the results make an interesting read for any landowner, tenant or farm manager.
For the first time in six years, row crop rental rates decreased by almost 3%; however, rental rates on pasture and forage acres across the state remain steady to 3% higher for the ninth straight year. Record-high beef prices, narrowing margins on forage acres, increasing competition for existing forage acres, and rising property taxes likely play a significant role in the strong forage rental rates faced by Iowa cattlemen and small-ruminant producers.
For the first time in six years, row crop rental rates decreased by almost 3%; however, rental rates on pasture and forage acres across the state remain steady to 3% higher for the ninth straight year.
Rental rates on pastures in Iowa have increased almost 20% during the last decade. For high-productivity pastures with an estimated stocking rate of 2.5 or less acres per pair for the summer and adequate fence and water, the state average rate reported was $94 per acre in 2025. During the last 10 years, rental rates bottomed in 2017 at $71 per acre and recently topped at $95 per acre in 2024.
For low-productivity pastures defined as pasture requiring more than 2.5 acres per pair, the 2025 state average rate reported was $61 per acre.
Highest pasture rental rates were reported in USDA Crop Reporting District 3 (northeast at $107 per acre), District 5 (east central at $105 per acre), District 7 (southwest at $103 per acre), and District 4 (west central at $102 per acre). Lowest rates reported fell in District 2 (north central at $81 per acre) and District 8 (south central at $81 per acre). District 5 (central) saw the largest reduction in average prices at $26 per acre from 2024 to 2025, while District 9 (southeast) saw the largest increase at $27 per acre from 2024 to 2025.
Despite high carryover numbers in stored hay this spring, cash rent prices for established alfalfa hay acres continue to remain strong at an average of $206 per acre. This equates to a 25% increase from $165 per acre in 2016 and is up $6 per acre from the 2024 state average reported at $200 per acre.
While established grass hay acres have followed a similar trend as alfalfa, rental rates on oat acres harvested for forage production came in at $187 per acre, down $11 per acre from the previous year.
Data generated from this annual survey carried out by the ISU Extension farm management team is reported on a statewide basis, as well as by crop reporting district levels for forages. Although response rate varies, the report holds value as a year-to-year comparison. It is important to note these are not recommendations for rental rates but rather intended to serve as a starting point for negotiating prices, as multiple factors go into establishing a rental rate for each unique farm, including productivity, drainage capacity, longevity of the lease, fence and water availability, and services performed by parties. Download the entire Cash Rental Rates for Iowa 2025 Survey (FM1851).
Editor’s note: Erika Lundy-Woolfolk is an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach beef specialist. This article was originally written for Iowa Forage and Grassland Council’s June 2025 newsletter, The Forager. [Lead photo by Leann Schleicher]
Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 17, No. 6-B
Topics: Business , Management , News , Pasture and Forage
Publication: Angus Beef Bulletin
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