Cash rent patterns shift across Mid-South farm regions
Cash leases have become more common in the Mid-South as many landowners and tenants prefer simple agreements. Cash rent is easier to manage, especially for absentee landowners, compared with crop share leases that require more oversight. Tenants also find it simpler to bid for farmland using cash payments, which has encouraged a gradual shift toward cash lease arrangements across the region.
Many factors influence the amount of rent paid for irrigated cropland. Land productivity, access to groundwater, and investments such as precision leveling are major drivers. Improved land that allows efficient irrigation and drainage often earns higher rent. Areas with the ability to grow multiple crops, including rice, soybeans, corn, and cotton, also support stronger rental values. Higher market prices and inflation add additional upward pressure on cash rents, as they contribute to rising farmland values.
Average irrigated cropland cash rents for 2025 differ widely across the Mid-South. Values range from about $146 per acre in East Central Arkansas to nearly $228 per acre in Southeast Missouri. Regions with lower rents often have more unimproved cropland, where rolling or uneven land limits the use of precision leveling. These land conditions reduce efficiency and keep rental values lower compared with flatter regions.
From 2019 to 2025, nominal irrigated cropland cash rents rose in every Mid-South subregion. Increases ranged from nine percent in Southeast Arkansas to more than twenty-five percent in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Louisiana. These increases resulted from rising crop prices, higher input costs during global disruptions, and broad inflation after 2022.
However, when adjusting values to 2025 dollars, real cash rents have remained mostly steady since 2019. This shows that inflation accounts for much of the growth in nominal rental rates. Overall, rental trends highlight how land improvements, irrigation access, and economic conditions continue to shape cropland values in the Mid South.
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