The Connection Between Cash Rents and Land Values

The last few years have seen big increases in land values. Cash rents have also increased but perhaps at a slower rate than land values. This paper examines the ratio of land values to cash rents to determine how cash rents have changed in relation to land value changes. This ratio is important because it helps indicate whether cash rents are a cost effective way of controlling farmland relative to purchasing the land. Results indicate cash rents lag behind changes in land prices when land prices are increasing but not when land prices are decreasing. However, this relationship does not always hold.