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Iowa farmland drops for first time since ’99

The average value of an acre of farmland in Iowa declined in 2009 for the first time in a decade.  That according to an annual survey conducted by Iowa State University extension farm economist Mike Duffy.

“The statewide average was $4,371,” Duffy says. “This was down two-point-two percent from 2008.”

But Duffy says, after some significant declines in the first half of the year, the situation has improved.  “My guess is that if we would have done this, say, six months ago, we would have seen a much larger decrease—probably ten percent or so,” he says. “So we’ve seen some strength here in the market, back up to close to where we were a year ago.”

Looking forward, Duffy sees farmland values holding steady for the next six to eight months.

“There really isn’t anything on the horizon that causes me to think we’re going to see major increases—and I just don’t see anything that’s going to cause a major decrease either,” says Duffy.

The only Iowa district that showed an increase in farmland values over 2008 was East Central, up one-point-one percent. 

In the decade since 1999, owners of Iowa farmland have watched their holdings increase in value by 145 percent on average.

AUDIO: Mike Duffy

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