NASHUA, Iowa – According to Iowa State University Extension, the 2026 Iowa Farm Custom Rate Survey provides projected average costs for custom farming operations – such as planting, harvesting and spraying – based on surveys from Iowa farmers and operators.

The newly released survey includes averages and ranges for common farming tasks and machinery rent in Iowa, said Ann Johanns, program specialist, farm management, at Iowa State’s Borlaug Learning Center in Nashua in northeast Iowa.

“It helps set fair, current-year rates for machinery hiring, with 2026 data showing increases of up to 8.5 percent for certain operations, including new categories like drone spraying and side-dressing anhydrous ammonia,” she said. “Rates are affected by factors such as fuel prices, operator skill, field size and machinery availability.”  

The survey also noted farm tasks range from field preparation to planting to harvest, with cost data that reflects the average, median and range for each task. Rental rates for select machinery, grain bins and hourly machinery operating wages are also included.

Conducted by Iowa State Extension and Outreach for over 50 years, the survey’s 2026 results are based on 205 responses and 4,698 custom rates provided by Iowa farmers, custom operators and farm managers. The survey indicated 32 percent of respondents perform custom work, 20 percent hire work done, 47 percent indicated doing both, and 2 percent did not indicate whether they perform or hire custom work.

According to William Edwards, a retired Iowa State Extension economist, custom work is an agricultural arrangement where a landowner hires a contractor (the custom operator) to perform specific field operations – such as tillage, planting or harvesting – for a set fee, usually per acre or hour.

“The landowner retains ownership of the crop, pays all input costs (i.e., seed, fertilizer), and manages the market risks, while the operator provides machinery, labor and expertise,” he said.

Johanns said, “This survey report is heavily used by Iowans and across the Midwest, as the 116,000 downloads in the past year show. The 2026 survey report shows increases across all categories of operations surveyed, ranging from 0.3 percent for bin and machinery rental rates, to 8.5 percent for pre-harvest operations, which include tillage, spraying, fertilizer application and planting.”

She added the custom rate survey is intended to serve as a guide. Actual custom rates may vary according to the availability of machinery in each area, timeliness, operator skill, field size and shape, crop conditions, and the performance characteristics of the machine being used.

She told Farm World the survey’s focus is to provide clarity and a starting point for custom rate discussions, for those hiring custom work done, and those performing custom work: “The survey shines a light on the range of costs for various operations, and encourages awareness in how important it is to know individual costs as they likely fall somewhere within the ranges shown in the survey, but to what end is going to depend on the situation.”

She said the cost of machinery includes ownership (fixed) costs that are incurred regardless of how much the machinery is used (factoring in depreciation, interest, insurance and housing); and operating (variable) costs such as fuel, repairs and maintenance, and labor that are directly tied to acres, or hours the equipment is used.

“Operator skill and field size could also impact those costs, considering it could directly impact repair costs, or time in the field, as examples,” she said. “Custom rates need to account for these costs because if a custom rate isn’t covering the cost of the machinery and operator, that custom operator is losing money.”

She added, “The survey provides transparency and a starting point, but it is imperative to know your own machinery costs.”