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TIMELY TOPICS
The 2025 Farmland Rental guide is now available at the Rockbridge Extension Office.
Pastureland rental rates average $20.50 per acre per year and cropland rental rates have been averaging close to $30 per acre per year for Rockbridge. There is a considerable range in rental rates, however.
The National Ag Statistics Survey (NASS) conducts a survey of farmland rental rates most years. The results are statistically valid according to accepted practices for surveys of this type. NASS does not publish data ranges or provide data specific to localities smaller than counties.
From Extension agent interviews with farmers and landowners across the region, separate from the NASS survey, we know land rental rates for pasture can range from $0 to more than $60 per acre per year in Rockbridge and higher for Augusta and Rockingham counties.
Higher rental rates are most often driven by location, parcel size (parcels of 100 acres grazing land or more tend to garner higher rates), and quality of infrastructure (fences, water, corral facilities, and farm buildings that may be part of the lease). Most pasture rental rates include an obligation that the tenant mechanically mow the entire open acreage at least once per year.
Cropland rental rates range from $0 to over $80 per acre per year (and even higher in Augusta and Rockingham counties) with the higher rates occurring for crop fields in close proximity to dairy operations, soils with high yield potential, and larger fields of 30 acres or more.
Is land rented exclusively for hay considered cropland? If the field was planted to an improved grass or alfalfa in recent years and conversion to row crops is allowed by the owner, then its use is clearly cropland. If the field is permanent grass and no other crop can be planted, then its use more closely resembles pasture.
The publication available at the Extension office lists farmland rental rates for Rockbridge, Augusta, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Page counties. These are all counties where contractpoultry farming takes place and most farms in these counties market livestock and grain in Staunton and Harrisonburg.
Rental rates for Rockbridge are lower than the other aforementioned counties. This is due in part to Rockbridge having fewer dairy and poultry operations that tend to bid competitively for land and our distance from markets, especially for hauling grain to terminals in Harrisonburg or Broadway. Land in much of Rockbridge tends to be steeper with lower productivity potential compared to many farms that are rented in Augusta and Rockingham.
That stated, farmland rental rates trend higher in the northern tier of Rockbridge and this is due in part to a concentration of fulltime commercial farms in this part of the county and competition from Augusta farmers.
Average rental rates have generally crept upward over the past 10 years, especially for cropland. This appears to not be a function of the profitability of farming but rather a decline in the number of acres available to rent and thus higher competition among tenants for land to farm.
Landowners are urged to consider what it costs to keep a farm in good working order when they are negotiating a rental arrangement with a farmer.
The 2025 Farmland Rental Guide outlines what it costs to maintain soil pH and fertility, achieve a degree of weed control, and maintain fences. Accomplishing these tasks and spreading the costs over a period of eight years results in annual maintenance costs that range between $70 to $130 per acre per year, not including cost of labor.
Contact the Rockbridge Extension office at (540) 463-4734 or by e-mail at [email protected] for more information about farmland rental arrangements that can provide long-run benefits to both landowner and farmer.
