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Wisconsin 2021 cropland rents down slightly

Wisconsin’s 2021 land rental rates were down from 2020.  USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service says non-irrigated cropland rent averaged $133 per acre, which was down $5 an acre from 2020.  Pasture rents were about $2 higher than last year averaging $37 per acre.

The highest published cash rent for non-irrigated cropland was in Lafayette County at $214 per acre.  The next highest rents were in Grant, Brown, and Green Counties.  The three counties with the lowest rent were all along Lake Superior, with Bayfield County’s $20.50 per acre as the lowest.

Lafayette and Rock Counties had the highest published pasture rent at $61 per acre.  Manitowoc, Racine, and Dane counties were the only others with pasture rents above $50 per acre.

The prices might not last.  A University of Illinois study shows that with relatively higher returns in 2020 and 2021 throughout the Midwest, and higher projected returns in 2022, upward pressure on cash rents is expected.