Hawkeye Reporter

Iowa farmland values have skyrocketed to an 80-year high, according to a new Iowa State University survey result.

"ASFMRA member Wendong Zhang, Ph.D., of @IowaStateU has completed the Iowa Land Value Survey, indicating a 29% increase in farmland values over the past year," tweeted ASFMRA.

In the period of a year, the value of all Iowa farmland increased 29%, the Des Moines Register reported Dec. 14. Experts say that the increase in land values is not a surprise, but the size of the jump is significant.

The average price of an acre is $9,751, which is the highest price in 80 years, before inflation adjustment. 

"Every day, it seems like we're setting new highs," Andrew Zellmer said. He's a Peoples Co. farmland broker and president of the Iowa Chapter of the Realtors Land Institute — a group of brokers, appraisers and farm managers.

The previous peak occurred in 2013, but the 2021 peak is still 12% higher. Some possible reasons behind such strong increases are low-interest rates, better-than-expected crop yields, higher exports and good commodity prices, Zhang said. In fact, corn is priced at 60% more than what it was a year ago, and soybean prices have increased by 32%.