Market segments
- Cash rent (fixed annual)
- Crop share (landlord receives % of crop)
- Custom farming (landlord operates with hired equipment)
- Owner-operated (sale to active farmer)
- CRP / conservation lease
Farmland KPIs.
Farmland is row-crop agricultural land producing corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and other commodity crops. Performance is measured in cash rent per acre, yield per acre, soil productivity index (CSR2 in Iowa, PI in Illinois), and total return (cash yield + appreciation). The sector has institutional investor exposure through public REITs (LAND, FPI), TIAA-CREF (private), and farmland-specific funds (Hancock, UBS Farmland). USDA NASS data provides comprehensive market benchmarks. Demand drivers: global food demand + biofuels + ESG capital flows. Premium Iowa/Illinois row-crop farmland trades $10,000-15,000+ per acre; lower-productivity Plains states $2,000-5,000. Annual total return (cash yield 3-4% + appreciation 4-7%) has historically tracked 7-10% over rolling 10-year periods. Ilora.ai ingests cash rent / crop share leases, USDA Farm Service Agency records, soil productivity ratings (CSR2, PI), yield history (APH database), and crop insurance policies, then benchmarks against LAND, FPI, and TIAA-CREF. ASFMRA, Iowa State CARD, and Purdue Ag Economics are canonical.
14 definitions · Sector: AGRICULTURAL · Used by Ilora.ai specialist AI agents
- NOI
- Total revenue minus operating expenses (excludes financing and capital costs). The primary measure of property-level profitability.
- Cap Rate
- Net Operating Income divided by current property value. Expresses unleveraged annual yield as a percentage.
- DSCR
- Net Operating Income divided by total annual debt service. Lender-required cushion measure; below 1.0 means NOI cannot cover debt.
- LTV
- Loan amount divided by property value. Lower LTV = lower lender risk.
- OER
- Operating expenses divided by gross revenue. Lower is better, but varies by property type (hotels run higher than triple-net retail).
- GRM
- Property value divided by gross annual rental income. Quick valuation shortcut; less precise than cap rate.
- IRR
- Annualized return on investment accounting for time value of money across the full hold period.
- CoC
- Pre-tax annual cash flow divided by total cash invested. Measures the cash yield, not total return.
- DCF
- Valuation method that projects future cash flows and discounts them to present value at a chosen rate.
- TTM
- A rolling sum of the most recent 12 months. Smooths seasonality for KPI comparisons.
- Yield/Ac
- Crop output per acre per harvest. The fundamental productivity measure for farmland.
- Cash Rent
- Annual cash payment per acre under a fixed-rent lease. The dominant farmland income model.
- PI / CSR
- State-specific scoring of soil productivity (e.g. CSR2 in Iowa, PI in Illinois). Drives valuation.
Net Operating Income
NOI = Revenue − Operating Expenses
Capitalization Rate
Cap Rate = NOI ÷ Property Value
Debt Service Coverage Ratio
DSCR = NOI ÷ Annual Debt Service
Loan-to-Value
LTV = Loan Amount ÷ Property Value
Operating Expense Ratio
OER = Operating Expenses ÷ Gross Revenue
Gross Rent Multiplier
GRM = Property Value ÷ Gross Annual Rent
Internal Rate of Return
Cash-on-Cash Return
CoC = Annual Cash Flow ÷ Total Cash Invested
Discounted Cash Flow
Trailing Twelve Months
Yield Per Acre
Cash Rent Per Acre
Soil Productivity Index
Sub-types
Sub-types within Farmland.
- Corn / Soy Belt Row Crop
- Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska — high-quality row-crop farmland.
- Wheat Belt
- Kansas, Oklahoma, North Dakota — wheat and small grains.
- Cotton Belt
- Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas — cotton + soy + corn rotation.
- Specialty / Permanent Crop
- Almonds, pistachios, citrus, vineyards — separate property type categories.
- Pasture / Rangeland
- Grazing land, livestock operations.
Amenities & features
7 amenities Ilora.ai tracks for Farmland.
- Tillable Acreage
Acres in active row-crop production. The fundamental productive asset.
- Tillable acres %
- Yield per tillable acre
- Drainage Tile (Subsurface)
Underground drainage system. Standard in Midwest row-crop farmland.
- Tile system condition
- Drainage coverage %
- Irrigation (Pivot or Sub-Surface)
Center-pivot or sub-surface irrigation infrastructure. Adds 30-50% to land value.
- Irrigated acres %
- Water rights ML/yr
- Grain Storage / Bin Site
On-farm grain storage, drying equipment. Allows post-harvest market timing.
- Storage capacity (bushels)
- Farm Buildings
Machine sheds, hog/poultry barns, livestock facilities (where applicable).
- Outbuilding income
- Conservation / CRP Acres
Conservation Reserve Program enrolled acres receiving annual federal payment.
- CRP annual payment per acre
- CRP contract years remaining
- Wind / Solar Lease Income
Energy infrastructure leases on farmland; non-cropping ancillary revenue.
- Wind/solar lease per turbine
- Energy lease term
Industry reference
How the farmland sector operates.
Operating models
- Owner-operated farmer
- Tenant farmer cash rent
- Tenant farmer crop share
- REIT-owned + tenant farmer (LAND, FPI)
- Institutional fund-owned (TIAA, Hancock)
Regulatory frameworks
- USDA NASS reporting
- USDA RMA crop insurance
- Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
- EQIP / CSP conservation programs
- State drainage district + irrigation district rules
- Foreign ownership disclosure (varies by state)
Industry organizations
- American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA)
- Iowa State University CARD
- Purdue Agricultural Economics
- Farmland Investor Network
- NIAB (National Institute of Agricultural Botany)
- TIAA-CREF Center for Farmland Research
Comparable public REITs / operators
- LAND (Gladstone Land Corporation)
- FPI (Farmland Partners)
- AFCO (American Farmland Company — acquired by FPI)
- TIAA-CREF (private institutional)
- UBS Agrivest
- Hancock Agricultural Investment Group
- Westchester Group (private)
Documents Ilora.ai ingests
- Cash rent or crop share lease
- USDA Farm Service Agency records (acreage history)
- Soil productivity rating (CSR2, PI)
- Yield history (APH database)
- Crop insurance policy
- Property tax records
- Drainage / irrigation district assessments
- Conservation contract (CRP / CSP)
- Mineral rights assessment
Industry tools (we integrate with these)
- AcreValue (land valuation)
- AcrePlanner (farm planning)
- Land.com / LandWatch (listings)
- USDA NASS QuickStats
- ProAg / Crop Risk Services (insurance)
- Yardi for Agricultural Investments
- AgriEdge Excelsior (Syngenta)
- Granular (farm management)
Frequently asked
Common questions about farmland.
- How is farmland value determined?
- Farmland value is driven by soil productivity (CSR2 in Iowa, PI in Illinois), location (proximity to grain markets), cash rent capacity, and trend yield. High-quality Iowa/Illinois row-crop farmland trades at $10,000-15,000+ per acre; lower-productivity Plains states $2,000-5,000. Annual total return (cash yield 3-4% + appreciation 4-7%) has historically tracked 7-10% over rolling 10-year periods.
- What is the difference between cash rent and crop share?
- Cash Rent: tenant pays fixed annual rent regardless of yield or commodity price. Landlord has predictable income, no commodity exposure. Crop Share: landlord receives a percentage (typically 25-50%) of harvested crop. Landlord shares yield + price risk with tenant. Cash rent dominates Midwest farmland (~80%); crop share more common in tighter-margin areas + permanent crops.
- Which public REITs own farmland?
- Two pure-play public farmland REITs: Gladstone Land (LAND) — focused on permanent crops + organic farms, primarily west coast; Farmland Partners (FPI) — diversified row-crop and permanent crop nationally. Most institutional farmland exposure is private — TIAA-CREF Center for Farmland Research holds $10B+, Hancock Agricultural Investment Group $4B+, Westchester Group, UBS Agrivest. Public REIT exposure remains a small fraction of the institutional farmland market.