Home Local Ag News Iowa State Survey Shows Land Values Declining

Iowa State Survey Shows Land Values Declining

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa State University survey says state farmland values have dropped by nearly 4 percent this year, marking a second straight year of decline.
Farmland values dropped to a statewide average of $7,633 an acre, down from a recent 2013 peak of $8,716 per acre. Assistant economics professor Wendong Zhang says farmland value may not rebound soon because of declining farm income and stagnant commodity prices.
However, Zhang says this year’s decline was less severe than anticipated and farmland values are still almost 14 percent higher than 2011 values.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farm income in Iowa declined 39 percent last year to nearly $5.1 billion.