According to an Iowa State University study, 58% of Iowa’s farmland is under a lease, which is up 1 million acres since the study was last conducted in 2017.
Researchers’ findings reveal farmland leases continue to be handled on a cash rent basis rather than crop share and owner-operated. Since 2017, cash rent, specifically fixed cash rent, has increased 5% to 87%.
There are also changing tides in how Iowa farmland is owned. Roughly 80% of Iowa’s farmland in 1982 was in sole ownership or joint tenancy; now, that number sits at 52%. Instead, landowners are opting for a trust, with numbers growing from 1% to 23% since 1982.
The researchers also found 17% of farmland owners do not have a planned successor. However, the survey finds 75% of Iowa’s landowners are interested in selling their land to beginning farmers, thanks to incentives in federal and state tax credits.
A rise in beginning farmers would tip the scales in another area of Iowa State’s research. Currently, 66% of Iowa’s farmland is owned by people over 65-years-old, which is up from 29% in 1982.
Similarly, women own 46% of the state’s land, and they hold a larger share among senior owners.
Farmland Debt
The study also finds farmland debt is continuing a downward trajectory, with 84% of Iowa farmland owned debt-free — the highest level ever recorded. In 1982, only 62% of land was owned debt-free; however, due to the 1980s farm crisis, researchers anticipated the large gap.
