Cash rents struggle to keep up with soaring land values.
Land values have been rising, and so have cash rents, but not as quickly. A study looked at the ratio of land values to cash rents to see how they've changed. This ratio helps show if renting land is a good way to control farmland costs compared to buying it. The study found that when land prices go up, cash rents increase more slowly. But when land prices drop, cash rents catch up faster. However, this doesn't always happen.