Will Iowa farmland values continue to rise?

ABSTRACT

This article shows how the agricultural commodity markets and the land market have gained noticeable strength since fall 2020 due to COVID-19. Record government support, historically low interest rates, and surging agricultural exports led to a near-10% hike in farmland values for almost all Midwestern states. The two most recent quarterly surveys on farmland values of agricultural lenders by the Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City and Chicago are presented in this paper. Moreover, the surging crop and land prices offer optimism to landowners, producers, and agricultural professionals, and once again proves the resiliency of agricultural real estate values. The estimates from an online survey on land value trends and crop prices for corn and soybean in Iowa were provided. Overall, agricultural professionals expect a continuation of the growth spree in farmland values in their local service areas over the next 18 months.