As we turn the calendar to a new year, nearly all of us in agriculture share an expectant optimism for the successes a new year can bring. This time around, we also get to turn our sights to a new decade! Think back 10 years and consider what you were doing a decade ago. Or, pause to consider what you’ll be doing a decade from now. There are all kinds of terrific possibilities. It makes me wonder what Iowa farmland will be worth a decade from now.

What we know today across the state of Iowa is that the farmland market is stable. As is typical for farmland values, there are pockets of both strength as well as weakness. These pockets are based on, among other things, local factors like recent year crop production success, the local volume of land sales that have occurred and the location of land relative to economic development.

Each week over the past four to six months, it seems examples of surprisingly strong sales were tempered by a similar number of reports of expected sale results, and even a few “soft” sales. Broadly speaking, this variety of sale reports confirms that our Iowa farmland market is stable. 

On a larger scale, you can be sure that Iowa farmland values will be influenced in 2020 by several factors at the global level. The direction and scale of movement in interest rates will impact the appetite of farmland buyers in Iowa (and elsewhere) this year.  Trade policy, and the potential outcome of several ongoing negotiations (e.g., USMCA, China) will impact the supply-and-demand curves for Iowa ag products, including soybeans, corn, pork, cattle and poultry.

And as has become increasingly clear with all the Iowa Caucus advertising we’ve been enduring thus far, the 2020 U.S. presidential election is likely to shake up most, if not all, sectors of the U.S. economy. All I can say is, hold on!

In summary, 2020 opens a new year and a new decade to all kinds of possibilities. And underlying all those possibilities is one constant — the land on and under which we produce the array of farm products consumed and enjoyed across the world.

NORTHWEST

O’Brien County. Near Hartley, 80 acres sold at public auction for $12,700 per acre. The farm consists of 75 tillable acres with a 97 CSR2, which equals $140 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres. This farm is one of four parcels sold that were each certified organic.

NORTH CENTRAL

Worth County. Near Northwood, 152 acres sold at public auction for $9,100 per acre. The farm consists of 152 tillable acres with an 88.7 CSR2, which equals $103 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTHEAST

Fayette County. Northeast of Hawkeye, 96 acres sold for $7,623 per acre. The farm consists of 88 tillable acres (72 crop, 16 CRP) with an 87.4 CSR2, which equals $95 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

WEST CENTRAL

Greene County. South of Jefferson, 160 acres sold at public auction for $10,300 per acre. The farm consists of 157 tillable acres with an 88.1 CSR2, which equals $119 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

CENTRAL

Polk County. Northeast of Bondurant, 110 acres recently sold at public auction for $10,000 per acre. The farm consists of 107 tillable acres with an 84.4 CSR2, which equals $122 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

EAST CENTRAL

Johnson County. Southeast of Iowa City, 152 acres sold for $11,600 per acre. The farm consists of 152 tillable acres with a 93.2 CSR2, which equals $124 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHWEST

Page County. South of Red Oak, 118 acres sold at public auction for $7,200 per acre. The farm consists of 113 tillable acres with an 86 CSR2, which equals $87 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTH CENTRAL

Clarke County. North of Osceola, 240 acres sold at public auction for $2,900 per acre. The farm consists of 140 tillable acres but had been entirely used as highly improved pasture as well as hay production.

SOUTHEAST

Washington County. Southwest of Washington, 67 acres recently sold at public auction for $13,400 per acre. The farm consists of 64 tillable acres with an 84.3 CSR2, which equals $167 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

Hensley is president of Hertz Real Estate Services, which compiled this list, but did not handle all sales. Visit hertz.ag.