Iowa farmland values drop for first time in a decade

The average value of an acre of farmland in Iowa declined in 2009 for the first time in a decade, according to an annual survey conducted by Iowa State University Extension.

Mike Duffy, ISU Extension farm economist who conducts the survey, said the statewide average as of Nov. 1 this year was $4,371 an acre, down 2.2 percent or $97 from the 2008 figure of $4,468.

The last time the statewide average dropped was in 1999, when the survey reported the average was $1,781 an acre, or $20 less than in 1998. In the decade since 1999, owners of Iowa farmland have watched their holdings increase in value by 145 percent on average.

The value of an average acre of Linn County farmland rose $5 or 0.11 percent to $5,201 from $5,196 in 2008. In Johnson County, the average value of good farmland fell $103, or 2.01 percent to $5,052 from $5,155 in 2008.

Duffy said the slight decrease in 2009 in the ISU survey may contain some good news compared to other surveys that look at land values in Iowa. He noted the 2.2 percent decline covered sales for the time period between November 2008 and November 2009.