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NW IL, Mercer County | I’m going to assume you are a young/beginning farmer. Correct me if I’m wrong. I will preface that I dont know your financial or current work situation so think about that when reading my response.
I dont think you can or should ever turn down renting ground as long as it fits logistically, $/ac is reasonable to make a decent profit, AND if you can handle the extra land. Theres not much worse than being untimely in your operations. There are people who notice that, and your landlord plus future landlords will too. Being untimely costs you money and opportunity. But you cant farm without land.
Row shut offs pay dividends every year and are one of the cheapest options on your list. That should be a top priority. You dont need some 300k electric drive planter to do it either.
Soil sampling and proper fertility should be part of your standard operating procedure. You dont need to go out and dump 400# of fertilizer on but you should at the very least be covering your removal rates. I have cut back on my fertilizer rates in recent years to help subsidize my tiling addiction. Let the additional revenue and profit generated help pay for other things.
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Establishing Priorities
