DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Farmland values are rising sharply in Iowa, according to a semi-annual survey of real estate agents.
The Daily Nonpareil in Council Bluffs reports that the survey released recently shows that tillable farmland value increased by 18.8% over the past six months. The statewide average value of $12,182 per acre compared to a value of $10,221 per acre in March.
The September survey by the Realtors Land Institute’s Iowa chapter indicated that the year-over-year increase totaled 26.6%. RLI spokesman Matt Vegte called the value “pretty hefty for Iowa ag land.”
RLI officials pointed to low interest rates, favorable commodity prices and expectations of “fairly good” fall crop yields as positive drivers behind the surging land values.