Iowa farmland value grows 2.3% in 2019

It’s been a difficult year for farmers— the planting season saw an overabundance of rain and delayed planting, the United States’ trade war with China persisted, skewing both commodity prices and demand, and farm bankruptcies rose to the highest level since 2011. However, favorable interest rates, strong yields, and limited land supply combined to help drive Iowa’s farmland values up for only the second time in six years.

The statewide value of an acre of farmland is now estimated to be $7,432, which represents an increase of 2.3 percent, or $168, since 2018. These numbers represent a statewide average of low-, medium-, and high-quality farmland.

“The reprieve in the land market, unfortunately, is not driven by a much stronger farm economy,” said, Wendong Zhang. Zhang is an assistant professor of economics at Iowa State University and is responsible for leading the annual Iowa Land Value Survey.

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