BOONE, Iowa—Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is conducting farmland leasing meetings across 12 different sites in Central Iowa during late July and August. Meeting sites include Boone, Gladbrook, Newton, Adel, Grinnell, Altoona, Nevada, Indianola, Greenfield, Winterset, Marshalltown and Knoxville and are coordinated by county ISU Extension and Outreach offices.

The discussion will focus on various methods to determine a fair 2020 cash rental rate and the importance of good tenant/landlord communications. According the Cash Rental Rates for Iowa – 2019 Survey released in mid-May, the average 2019 cash rent statewide is $219 per tillable acre, a 1.4 percent decrease as compared to 2018. Average cash rents statewide continues to stabilize after a decline of nearly 18 percent from the 2013 peak.

The Boone meeting site will be Monday, August 5, beginning at 9:00 a.m. with doors open at 8:30 a.m. This is the home of the Boone County Extension Office located at 1327 SE Marshall Street in Boone. The meeting will last approximately 2 ½ hours and will be facilitated by Steve Johnson, farm and agriculture business management specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach.

Pre-registration is required at least two days before the meeting and a $20 per individual or $30 per couple fee is payable at the door. Participants will receive a 100-page booklet and meeting handouts designed to assist landowners, tenants and other agri-business professionals with issues related to farmland ownership, management and leasing arrangements.

Contact the Boone County Extension office at (515) 432-3882 with your questions or to pre-register on or before Thursday, August 1.

For a list of meetings statewide, check the ISU Extension calendar for a meeting near you at www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/info/meetings.html.

Steve Johnson, farm and agriculture business management specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach

(contributed article and photo, ISU Extension and Outreach)