Iowa farmland values skyrocket, again

High commodity prices and low interest rates helped drive farmland values in Iowa to an average of $11,411 an acre, up 17% from 2021, when they rose 29%, said Iowa State University’s annual Land Value Survey. “Farmers have a lot more cash on hand and supply chain issues led to a shortage of equipment, so the money that farmers normally spend on equipment is now devoted to land,” said ISU associate professor Wendong Zhang.

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Seventy percent of the agricultural professionals taking part in the survey — appraisers, farm managers, and lenders — said land values were “too high” or “way too high,” said Zhang. Still, 48% of participants said they expected prices to be higher a year from now. About 28% expected lower values and 24% expected prices to hold steady.

The 2022 farmland value of $11,411 an acre was the highest in the history of the survey, which began in 1941. When adjusted for inflation, this year’s value still exceeds the 2013 value of $8,716 an acre.