One of the “most aggressive farmers” in central Illinois will pay a record cash rent of US$450 per acre for 800 acres of corn and soybean land southeast of Springfield, AgriMarketing magazine reports.
The Missouri-based magazine for marketers and communicators in the North American ag industry on Monday quoted a “prominent professional farm manager” in the region as saying his organization had rented what he called a “great piece” of “flat, black and well drained land” for the 2009 season.
The rental, which the magazine said is a record cash rent for corn and soybean ground, will gross US$340,000 for the landowner and represents a 38 per cent increase over the 2008 lease. The farm manager said he received over 50 bids.
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The manager was quoted in AgriMarketing as saying the land “should gross over US$1,400 per acre for corn production.
“Even though that rent looks high, it still provides plenty of profit margin for the renter, assuming he gets an average yield and locks in a good price.”
The “Editors’ Picks” feature will highlight unusual-yet-true news from the world of farming, as gleaned from various sources by the editorial staff of the Farm Business Communications division.