Landowners lease roughly 35% of Missouri crop, pasture, and woodland acreage to renters every year.
Rented acreage has increased in recent years as more land has transitioned to the next generation, interest rates have incentivized land investments, and interest in carbon markets and working land conservation has grown, said Ben Brown, extension economist with the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.
To provide information Missourians can use when negotiating land rental rates, MU researchers invite landowners, farmers, ranchers, and hunters to participate in the 2021 Missouri rental rate survey.
“Every producer wants to know three things: what the weather is going to do, the future price of grain or livestock, and what is the going rate for land,” Brown said. “This assessment helps with the latter.”
The survey collects rental agreement information for cropland, pasture, woodland hunting, building and facility rental, hay ground, livestock stocking rates, and future expectations. The results will be published in the Missouri Agricultural Rental Rate Summary, which will be available at this link and county extension centers.
The anonymous survey takes five to 10 minutes to complete, Brown said. You can participate electronically by clicking on this link or pick up a paper copy from your local MU Extension center.
“As a producer, having this aggregated information of local markets allows me to compare my management practices to other producers’ practices,” said Doug James, who raises corn, soybean, and cattle in Missouri. “In today’s agricultural environment, the applied farm management information supplied by the University of Missouri is crucial to the many business decisions I have to make.”
Hunters can use the survey results summary to gauge an appropriate rate to pay for hunting privileges. “Hunting lease evaluation includes land quality, habitat viability, contract specifications, and available species,” said Jack Winn, a mid-Missouri hunter. “The Missouri Agricultural Rental Rate Summary provides guidance as a tenant when assessing hunting leases.”
Contact your local extension center for questions about using the rental rate summary to make decisions about rental agreements.
“Accurate rental rate summaries give us as educators information regarding local markets to assist both tenants and landowners in this very important decision,” said Katie Neuner, county engagement specialist with MU Extension.
