THE IMPLICIT VALUE OF CORN BASE ACREAGE

The impact of recent changes to the U.S. commodity program and efficacy of environmental regulations designed to discourage continuous corn rotations will depend upon the value farmers place on corn base acreage. This paper estimates this value by assuming that the benefits of access to the program are capitalized into farmland rents. Using Iowa rental survey data and a hedonic pricing approach, the rent gradient for base acreage is found to be on the order of $12 per acre. The discounted stream of returns to base acreage suggests an asset value for corn base of approximately $200 per acre.