Iowa’s March Farmland Sales Summary
Jason Smith
CAI Auctioneer, Land Broker
Founder, Auctioneer, Broker, and Agent at DreamDirt, Jason Smith is a lead farm real estate professional in the Midwest. He has achieved the pinnacle of auction education earning the CAI designation and is one of only 11 CAI auctioneers in Iowa. Jason graduated from the World Wide College of Auctioneering, and has achieved the PRI designation from the Professional Ringmen Institute. Jason and his wife founded DreamDirt in 2005, and the company continues to be a leader in the farm auction space and prides itself in offering extensive land seller and buyer information.
Email: jason@dreamdirt.com | Phone: (515) 537-6633
Iowa Farmland Sales Volume For 80% Tillable Farms
Farmland Prices In Iowa For March, 2019
January and February were very similar, but March brought about some completely new land price and availability data. Floods in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska stand to be somewhat of a gamechanger in 2019. Typically we see a fairly decent volume of land going on the auction market in late winter and early spring. This year was no different. However, now with the flooding and devastation it caused, some farmers will be forced to leave agriculture due to financial failure and retirements. This will ad an unanticipated supply of land into the marketplace.
This kind of natural disaster and destruction hurts locally. But it hurts the broader market as well. Any event that causes land to become available will also eat up local available money in different ways – regional and national investors only have so much to spend annually on farmland purchases and additional supply will spread that money over more acres. Farmland prices are likely to see a bit of a downturn as a result.
Up until this point, we have seen interest rates creeping higher and putting pressure on the cost of money. However, the Federal Reserve announced that there would be no more interest rate hikes this year, and have actually backed off the federal lending rate. The friction this caused on farmland prices has been reduced, but trade and low commodity prices continue to put pressure on land prices.
Overall, we may see this downward land trend for a few more weeks due to the pressure caused primarily by the flooding.
Average Price Per CSR2 Point For Iowa Farmland
The average price per CSR2 point in March 2019 was $99.29, across all 80% tillable farms sold at auction in Iowa. This is down from both January and February 2019. The CSR2 point rating is a measure of the soil’s productivity out of a scale of 100. It is important to remember that monthly variations depend on the quality of farms sold that month. The best representation of price per CSR2 point is over a longer period of time such as six months to a year.
Average Price Per Acre Of Tillable Farmland In Iowa
We saw an average price of $7,453.26 per tillable acre of farmland in March 2019. The monthly average has been slowly decreasing since
Selling Farmland In Iowa
Selling a farm doesn’t have to be a scary or stressful experience. If you are considering selling farmland in Iowa, DreamDirt can help you learn what your farm is worth for free. Not only that, but we have the data and expertise to offer you professional guidance in the marketing and sale of your land. You can call us at 515-537-6633 or click the link below to learn more.
March 2019 Average Price Per Acre Of Farmland
Iowa Farmland Prices – 12 Month Rolling Summary
Iowa Farmland Sales Report For March 2019 – 80% Tillable Farms
| County | Total Acres | Tillable Acres | Price Per Tillable Acre | CSR2 | $ per Tillable CSR2 | Price | % Tillable |
| Jasper | 35 | 36.54 | $8,400.00 | 84.4 | $99.53 | $306,936.00 | 104.40 |
| Clarke | 61.78 | 55.27 | $6,700.00 | 71.5 | $93.71 | $370,309.00 | 89.46 |
| Dickinson | 60 | 59.3 | $4,000.00 | 62.4 | $64.10 | $237,200.00 | 98.83 |
| Emmet | 126.55 | 118.23 | $5,800.00 | 74.7 | $77.64 | $685,734.00 | 93.43 |
| Fremont | 399.7 | 342.85 | $4,625.00 | 73.2 | $63.18 | $1,585,681.25 | 85.78 |
| Iowa | 44 | 39.8 | $4,200.00 | 56 | $75.00 | $167,160.00 | 90.45 |
| Pottawattamie | 526 | 475.59 | $6,475.00 | 73.7 | $87.86 | $3,079,445.25 | 90.42 |
| Floyd | 78 | 77.1 | $4,500.00 | 72.1 | $62.41 | $346,950.00 | 98.85 |
| Jefferson | 40.19 | 39 | $8,300.00 | 75.3 | $110.23 | $323,700.00 | 97.04 |
| Jasper | 80 | 77.4 | $5,400.00 | 59.8 | $90.30 | $417,960.00 | 96.75 |
| Jasper | 80 | 71.04 | $5,900.00 | 64.3 | $91.76 | $419,136.00 | 88.80 |
| Marshall | 53 | 50.99 | $11,300.00 | 91.2 | $123.90 | $576,187.00 | 96.21 |
| Greene | 40 | 38.24 | $8,600.00 | 84.8 | $101.42 | $328,864.00 | 95.60 |
| Greene | 160 | 154.75 | $8,950.00 | 87.9 | $101.82 | $1,385,012.50 | 96.72 |
| Lyon | 104.9 | 99.12 | $11,000.00 | 67.9 | $162.00 | $1,090,320.00 | 94.49 |
| Howard | 75 | 71.7 | $7,300.00 | 86 | $84.88 | $523,410.00 | 95.60 |
| Howard | 20 | 17.1 | $5,900.00 | 56 | $105.36 | $100,890.00 | 85.50 |
| Howard | 20 | 19.5 | $7,100.00 | 76.7 | $92.57 | $138,450.00 | 97.50 |
| Des Moines | 79.93 | 75.81 | $9,500.00 | 87.4 | $108.70 | $720,195.00 | 94.85 |
| Union | 116.61 | 108.5 | $6,100.00 | 68.3 | $89.31 | $661,850.00 | 93.05 |
| Madison | 80 | 78 | $5,000.00 | 58.9 | $84.89 | $390,000.00 | 97.50 |
| Benton | 215 | 213.55 | $11,000.00 | 89.1 | $123.46 | $2,349,050.00 | 99.33 |
| Benton | 100 | 90.4 | $9,400.00 | 87.8 | $107.06 | $849,760.00 | 90.40 |
| Clarke | 44 | 43.68 | $6,600.00 | 72.4 | $91.16 | $288,288.00 | 99.27 |
| Sioux | 71.6 | 67.44 | $10,300.00 | 77.1 | $133.59 | $694,632.00 | 94.19 |
| Pocahontas | 160 | 147.25 | $5,000.00 | 73.7 | $67.84 | $736,250.00 | 92.03 |
| Buena Vista | 55.61 | 53 | $5,500.00 | 63.5 | $86.61 | $291,500.00 | 95.31 |
| Buchanan | 109.2 | 102.12 | $9,000.00 | 87.5 | $102.86 | $919,080.00 | 93.52 |
| Winnebago | 115.6 | 106 | $4,800.00 | 59.1 | $81.22 | $508,800.00 | 91.70 |
| Winnebago | 138.32 | 115 | $5,400.00 | 73.9 | $73.07 | $621,000.00 | 83.14 |
| Dallas | 140 | 132.64 | $11,300.00 | 88 | $128.41 | $1,498,832.00 | 94.74 |
| O’Brien | 67.8 | 67.71 | $10,000.00 | 97.6 | $102.46 | $677,100.00 | 99.87 |
| Lyon | 79.95 | 78.59 | $11,400.00 | 69.1 | $164.98 | $895,926.00 | 98.30 |
| Lyon | 79.96 | 76.63 | $9,900.00 | 67.7 | $146.23 | $758,637.00 | 95.84 |
| Lyon | 79.86 | 77.29 | $10,800.00 | 67.1 | $160.95 | $834,732.00 | 96.78 |
| Ida | 19 | 16 | $7,600.00 | 86.3 | $88.06 | $121,600.00 | 84.21 |
| Marion | 94.6 | 88.79 | $8,450.00 | 80.3 | $105.23 | $750,275.50 | 93.86 |
| Kossuth | 160 | 152.59 | $8,300.00 | 81.6 | $101.72 | $1,266,497.00 | 95.37 |
| Clay | 160 | 155.94 | $10,600.00 | 95 | $111.58 | $1,652,964.00 | 97.46 |
| Clay | 40 | 37.69 | $8,300.00 | 80.2 | $103.49 | $312,827.00 | 94.23 |
| Boone | 57.45 | 56.03 | $8,050.00 | 83.2 | $96.75 | $451,041.50 | 97.53 |
| Adams | 77 | 67.44 | $4,100.00 | 57.1 | $71.80 | $276,504.00 | 87.58 |
| Adams | 77 | 63.19 | $2,300.00 | 35.2 | $65.34 | $145,337.00 | 82.06 |
| Harrison | 249.54 | 80 | $4,900.00 | 54.7 | $89.58 | $392,000.00 | 32.06 |
| Harrison | 173.06 | 157.43 | $6,900.00 | 70 | $98.57 | $1,086,267.00 | 90.97 |
| Clay | 58.19 | 56.7 | $7,900.00 | 83.3 | $94.84 | $447,930.00 | 97.44 |
| Statewide Totals | 4903.4 | 4408.93 | $7,453.26 | 74.20 | $99.29 | $32,682,220.00 | 89.92 |
Featured Farmland Auction In Iowa
This 103 acre farmland, pasture, and hunting ground next to the Clanton Creek Recreational Area in Madison County, IA is open for bidding online and will close on April 18 at 2:00 PM! Of the 103 acres, 41.3 acres are pasture and hay ground with wooded draws, 2 ponds, and fair to good fences. The farm currently has 32.7 acres enrolled in CRP paying $5,939 annually. There are 59.54 cropland acres. This a great opportunity to buy a recreational farm that is income producing! Click here for more information about this outstanding property!
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