One universal truth is that better decisions are made during bad economic times and poor profits than during good economic times and great profits. When profits aren't great, people buckle down and analyze all expenses and all risk. When profits are big and business owners are flush with cash, this often leads to reckless decision-making because the decision maker feels "bulletproof." And so it is in today's environment. Back in the 1980s, a rule of thumb was that cash rents for good corn land shouldrun about a $l/bu. If your average yield was 150 bu./ acre, the benchmark would be a cash rent level of $150/acre. Cash rents now run from a low of $2.50/ bu. to over $5/bu. At the higher end, the risks are enormous if a person is only locking in the input prices and not locking in their selling prices.
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