Practical guidance for Iowa farmland heirs

You inherited a farm. Here’s what to do next.

Begin with published Iowa county context, then use the free checklist to gather the lease and land records before you make a tenant or family decision.

Start with a county page for published local context. The checklist helps you prepare the next step—no parcel details required.

Iowa launch preview

Start with
the right questions.

A calmer way to sort the lease, the land records, and the next family conversation.

Iowa county research

Start with the county record, not a guess.

See verified 2026 county context where the retained official records support it, or a clear withholding note where they do not.

Story County, Iowa

Official county resource and source-aware research steps

2026 context released
County report
USDA NASS Quick Stats – Iowa county cash rent
Report year
2026; direct county records reviewed

Released pages show labeled county context from two distinct 2026 sources. The figures are not a parcel estimate, prescribed rent, or advice.

View Story County context

A calm path through the folder

The first decision is not whether to sell.

It is knowing what you have, who is involved, and which questions can wait until you have the facts. Start there.

  1. 01

    Find the facts

    Locate the lease, tax parcel, FSA records, and the people who have been keeping the folder.

  2. 02

    Benchmark fairly

    Use county context and the soil information you have before deciding what a fair conversation looks like.

  3. 03

    Keep the calendar

    Know the questions to ask and the dates to confirm before a deadline turns into another year.

Free guide

The first 30 days after inheriting farmland.

A practical checklist for the lease and land records to gather, the ownership questions to clarify, and the tenant conversation to prepare for.

The existing lease and rent records to find

Deed, tax, and FSA materials to organize

Questions to align on before changing anything

After you browse your county

Start with the first 30 days.

Get the printable Iowa-first checklist for gathering records, reading the current lease, and preparing the right professional questions. No parcel address, tenant name, or phone number is requested.

We use your email to deliver this guide. No property details are requested, and no automated sequence is attached to this request.

See what the free checklist includes

What we are building

A practical desk for the person taking over.

A future toolkit will bring rent-benchmark context, lease questions, tenant-conversation preparation, and a simple annual calendar into one calmer starting point.

Keep the next date visible.

Begin by finding the current lease and noting the dates that affect your next conversation. The county preview shows how local context will sit alongside that preparation.

See how the benchmark will work

Built slowly, with better inputs

The Iowa Rent Index begins with a question.

Anonymous submissions may help inform a future local picture. Nothing is published from this form.

County and acreage are enough. The form deliberately does not request your identity, address, tenant, or parcel.

Anonymous Rent Index

Help build a clearer local picture.

Share cash rent anonymously. Do not include your name, address, tenant, or parcel details.

What did your tenant pay you last year?
Cash rent only — not property tax. Crop-share and CRP responses are saved separately and excluded from the cash-rent index.