Arriving at equitable land rental rates is always an ongoing challenge for farm operators and landlords alike, which will likely be an even bigger challenge for the 2026 growing season. Many times, land rental rates for a coming crop year are based on the profitability in crop production in the previous year or two before. In some cases, this can present profitability challenges for farm operators, if grain prices drop or there are yield challenges. On the other hand, there can be extra profit for farm operators in years with above average yields and higher levels of crop prices. Many landlords gradually increased cash rental rates from 2020 to 2023. With the advent of much lower grain prices in the past two years, along with variable crop yields in portions of the Upper Midwest in 2024, i

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