Acres for Farming: Yields, Cash Rent, and the Farmer's Football Field
An acre is 43,560 square feet - or as US farmers call it, "the farmer's football field". Here is what an acre produces in the real world, and what it costs to rent one.
Updated August 2026 | Source: USDA NASS 2025 Crop Production Summary (January 2026 release) and USDA NASS Cash Rents 2026 (August 2026 release)
The Farmer's Football Field
Farmer's football field
208.7 x 208.7 ft
1.00 acre exactly
The farmer's mental reference
Real football field (incl. end zones)
360 x 160 ft
1.32 acres
32% larger than one acre
Field of play only
300 x 160 ft
1.10 acres
10% larger than one acre
The phrase "farmer's football field" exists because one acre is the closest familiar landmark without being identical to a real football field. A farmer can walk one acre in a few minutes and quickly judge acreage by comparing to this mental model.
Major Crop Yields per Acre (USDA NASS 2025)
Source: USDA NASS 2025 Crop Production Summary, released January 2026. These are national averages; state and county yields vary significantly. Alfalfa hay carries the 2024 figure pending the 2025 NASS dry-hay release.
| Crop | 2025 US Avg Yield |
|---|---|
| Corn (grain) | 186.5 bu/ac |
| Soybeans | 53.0 bu/ac |
| Winter wheat | 54.9 bu/ac |
| Rice | 7,544 lbs/ac (~168 bu) |
| Cotton (lint) | 856 lbs/ac |
| Hay (all types) | 2.48 tons/ac |
| Alfalfa hay | 3.41 tons/ac |
Cash Rent per Acre (USDA NASS 2026)
Cash rent is the annual fee paid to lease cropland or pasture. The national figures split irrigated from non-irrigated cropland; high-value Corn Belt states command premium rents well above the average (Iowa cropland averaged about $270/acre in 2026, Iowa State University survey). Source: USDA NASS Cash Rents 2026 (August 2026). For your state and county, see USDA QuickStats.
| State | Cash Rent / Acre |
|---|---|
| National avg | $160/ac |
| National avg | $244/ac |
| National avg | $146/ac |
| National avg | $16.50/ac |
How Much Farmland Do I Need?
A 100-acre Iowa corn farm at 2025 USDA yields (186.5 bu/acre) and the 2025/26 marketing-year average corn price of about $4.15/bu (USDA WASDE, August 2026) would gross approximately $77,400 per year in corn revenue before input costs (seed, fertiliser, fuel, equipment). This is not a retirement scale operation.
Most full-time row-crop operations in the US Corn Belt farm 800 to 2,000+ acres to achieve viable economies of scale. A 100-acre farm is realistic for a part-time operation, a hobby farm with premium crops, or a cover-crop and pasture mix.
Crop insurance (APH math)
APH (Actual Production History) is the average yield per acre over 4-10 crop years, used by the USDA Risk Management Agency for crop insurance premium calculations. An Iowa corn grower with a 215 bu/acre APH can insure at a revenue protection level based on that figure. If you are buying farmland with existing APH records, request the APH documentation from the seller.
FAQ
What is the average corn yield per acre in the US?
What is the average soybean yield per acre?
What is cash rent per acre?
What is the farmer's football field?
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