AGRICULTURE: Farmland leasing meetings in August

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is conducting farmland leasing meetings across 10 different sites in Southeast Iowa during August.

Meeting sites include Oskaloosa, Keosauqua, Ottumwa/Bloomfield, Fairfield, Wapello, West Burlington, Donnellson, Mt. Pleasant, Humeston and Albia. Meetings 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.

The meeting also will include a brief economic outlook presented along with a look at farmland prices. A new Farm Bill starts in 2019 and with it comes a few changes. 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 stabilized in 2018 after a decline of nearly 19 percent from the 2013 peak.

The Keosauqua meeting is set from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19, at the Roberts Memorial Center on the Van Buren County Fairgrounds. For information, call 319-293-3039.

The Mt. Pleasant meeting will be 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. Registration deadline is Friday, Aug. 16. Call 319-385-8126.

The Fairfield meeting will be Wednesday, Aug. 21, beginning at 6:30 p.m., with doors opening at p.m., at Jefferson County Extension and Outreach office. For information, call 641-472-4166.

The meetings will last approximately three hours and will be facilitated by Charles Brown, farm 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.

For a list of meetings statewide, check the ISU Extension calendar at www.extension.iastate.edu/calendar.