Iowa Farmland Sales Report April 9th-15th

Apr 20, 2022

Welcome back to the Iowa Farmland Prices Report! We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend despite the cold and snow we received in the majority of Iowa on Sunday! Planting is on every farmer’s mind right now and the talk of the town. We’re still about a week or two out due to colder than normal temperatures this time of year. According to Successful Farming, the U.S. is currently at 4% corn planting progress. Our cover photo this week is courtesy of Dave Kestel from Manhattan, IL. Kestel posted aerial photos of his farm on April 15th sharing his farm artwork of an 840-foot cross.

Jason J Smith

Jason J Smith

Auctioneer & Land Broker

Jason is an experienced farmland broker and auctioneer with extensive experience in farmland sales across this Midwest.  Jason has worked with hundreds of clients to create advantageous outcomes.  If you are selling land schedule a consultation with Jason by calling or using the calendar.

Phone: 515-537-6633

Corn Prices Over $8 Which Hasn’t Happened Since Aug 2012!

It’s been a decade since we’ve seen corn prices reach $8/bushel. In August 2012, we saw $8 corn due to drought and now we are seeing these prices due to weather challenges, uncertainty in planting, inflation, and the Ukraine/Russia war. Soybeans are over $17 and experts suspect prices to keep increasing.

Farmland prices often reflect what commodity prices are doing. The higher commodity prices are – the higher farmland prices increase as well. This is certainly the case in our report below of last weeks’ Iowa Farmland Market Report.

Land value chart Iowa

President Biden Speaks About E15 Sales at Poet Ethanol Plant In Menlo, IA

On Tuesday, April 12th President Biden visited Poet Ethanol Plant in Menlo, Iowa which is 45 minutes West of Des Moines, IA in Guthrie County. President Biden expressed that the EPA will issue an emergency waiver allowing sales of E15. Iowa is the number one ethanol-producing state and E15 gas is made up of 15% corn ethanol. This summer, we should expect to see E15 offered at pumps which will help save around 10 – 50¢ a gallon on surging gas prices. 

Governor Reynolds released the following statement today in response to President Biden’s announcement of unrestricted year-round E15 sales for 2022:   

“Thank you to the Biden Administration for this very welcome news. While there is more to be done by the Administration to address high energy and fuel prices, unrestricted access to E15 is a great first step.  

heat map of Iowa Farmland sales

Iowa Land Prices at A Glance

Our Iowa Farmland Price Heat Maps have been a huge help for people that want to visualize and research farmland prices in Iowa.  Here you can research your farm’s proximity or the statewide market and see individual sale results, average prices per acre, the average price per CSR2 point as well as volumes of sales, and the number of acres sold.  Use this market price research tool right here at DreamDirt.  Click the Iowa map to get started.

Iowa Farmland Sales News This Week

Farmland in Iowa is still selling high with O’Brien County coming out at the top for this week’s leader at $20,450/acre. This is incredible when you look back at Iowa State University’s Land Survey Report in December 2021 when O’Brien County’s average farmland price was $13,713/acre! We did see a spread with a low of $92.04 per CSR2 point in Decatur County and a high of $223.01/CSR2 in O’Brien County. 

The average of all farmland sales this week was $169.83 per CSR2 point and that was a solid test on 3,271.08 tillable acres sold. The average price per acre of tillable farmland is still steadily high compared to last year this time and is currently at $13,403.85/acre according to last week’s 26 Iowa farmland auction results for tillable ground.

Typically, now is when farmland auctions start to slow down with planting season but we are adding auctions to May and discussing with multiple sellers about selling farmland this summer.

The demand for farmland is still at an all-time high due to commodity prices, interest rates, investor and farmer demand, and more factors that contribute to increasing farmland prices.

Now is a great time to sell farmland in Iowa if you’ve been thinking of doing so. Don’t wait till after the crop year to sell. We can help you structure your terms and conditions to reflect land ownership and cash rent if you decide to sell in June – August.

County Total Acres Tillable Acres Price Per Tillable Acre CSR2 $ per Tillable CSR2 Price % Tillable
Clarke 60 56.9 $6,750.00 52.5 $128.57 $384,075.00 94.83
Grundy 156.11 149.93 $13,100.00 88.2 $148.53 $1,964,083.00 96.04
Pottawattamie 307.38 285.67 $12,200.00 77.3 $157.83 $3,485,174.00 92.94
Taylor 170 101 $6,600.00 60.3 $109.45 $666,600.00 59.41
O’Brien 60.27 56.82 $20,450.00 91.7 $223.01 $1,161,969.00 94.28
Clay 240 226.48 $20,100.00 96 $209.38 $4,552,248.00 94.37
Clay 160 147.29 $19,700.00 95.2 $206.93 $2,901,613.00 92.06
Buena Vista 170 166.80 $14,000.00 83.2 $168.27 $2,335,200.00 98.12
Buena Vista 152 146.80 $13,300.00 79.9 $166.46 $1,952,440.00 96.58
Buena Vista 164.29 161.1 $14,600.00 86.8 $168.20 $2,352,060.00 98.06
Buena Vista 56.64 53.31 $14,600.00 88.1 $165.72 $778,326.00 94.12
Buena Vista 54.88 52.50 $14,400.00 86.2 $167.05 $756,000.00 95.66
Buena Vista 80 78.1 $15,100.00 87.6 $172.37 $1,179,310.00 97.63
Buena Vista 162.19 153.53 $14,100.00 84.5 $166.86 $2,164,773.00 94.66
Sac 80 76.43 $19,000.00 85.5 $222.22 $1,452,170.00 95.54
Keokuk 60.80 57.61 $10,000.00 62.7 $159.49 $576,100.00 94.75
Keokuk 145.26 136.23 $10,000.00 69.2 $144.51 $1,362,300.00 93.78
Keokuk 26.43 26.09 $12,400.00 70.7 $175.39 $323,516.00 98.71
Keokuk 33.20 33.20 $15,700.00 83.2 $188.70 $521,240.00 100.00
Hardin 175 163.70 $12,800.00 87.9 $145.62 $2,095,360.00 93.54
Mahaska 98.75 94 $5,650.00 50.9 $111.00 $531,100.00 95.19
Mitchell 151.81 148 $15,000.00 88 $170.45 $2,220,000.00 97.49
Mitchell 150.49 146 $11,900.00 71.1 $167.37 $1,737,400.00 97.02
Buchanan 60 52.1 $10,300.00 71.2 $144.66 $536,630.00 86.83
Buchanan 134 130.55 $7,650.00 51.9 $147.40 $998,707.50 97.43
Jasper 163 147.68 $13,200.00 70.2 $188.03 $1,949,376.00 90.60
Decatur 279.30 223.26 $5,900.00 64.1 $92.04 $1,317,234.00 79.94

Rachel Tiffany is a licensed real estate agent and auctioneer at DreamDirt.  You can reach her at 515-954-8063 or email [email protected] 

Jason Smith, Broker | Auctioneer

Jason Smith, Broker | Auctioneer

Founder, Farmland Auctioneer & Land Broker

Jason is an experienced farmland broker and auctioneer with extensive experience in farmland sales across this Midwest.  Jason has worked with hundreds of clients to create advantageous outcomes.  If you are selling land schedule a consultation with Jason by calling or using the calendar.

Email: [email protected]Phone: 515-537-6633

Request a Free Valuation for Your Farm or Land Property

Whether you’re ready to start the selling process, or even remotely curious, we will gladly provide you with a FREE Market Analysis! If you are in a position to sell land in the Midwest, we want to help you achieve the top of the market on your sale.

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