April 2023 Wallace’s Farmer “MarketPlace Extra”

As I’ve observed the Iowa farmland market in recent months, I continue to be impressed by its overall strength. Since January 1, however, it has become more clear to me that the market is trading sideways; few sales have set a new “high-water mark” in the way we repeatedly experienced a year ago. Land values here in early ’23 have certainly been buoyed by the strong profits of 2022; but today, there are also offsetting headwind pressures including higher input costs for the coming planting season, tighter profit margin forecasts, and an interest rate environment that continues to tick higher. None of the headwind factors is yet strong enough to turn the market lower. But higher input costs are real, and prospective buyers in today’s market are calculating hard and setting limits in their decisions. I believe the sideways pattern for land values will hold until we really get into the growing season. Then, the market will again begin to make production judgements that will provide new direction to both the commodity and land markets. Remember – farmers buy 7 out of 10 farms that get sold, so the collective of farmer decisions generally drives the land market. This was true in 2022, and I expect that pattern to again hold true in 2023.

NORTHWEST

Dickinson County:

160 +/- acres, located west of Milford, recently sold at public auction for $14,900 per acre. The farm consisted of 154 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 85.3, and equaled $181/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTH CENTRAL

Winnebago County:

53 +/- acres, located northeast of Thompson, recently sold at public auction for $11,125 per acre. The farm consisted of 45 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 75.9, and equaled $172/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTHEAST

Buchanan County:

79 +/- acres, located south of Monti, recently sold at public auction for $15,200 per acre. The farm consisted of 77 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 87.3, and equaled $178/CSR2 point on the tillable acres. Note: This farm was very irregularly shaped.

WEST CENTRAL

Woodbury County:

80 +/- acres, located northeast of Anthon, recently sold at public auction for $15,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 76 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 74.3, and equaled $212/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

CENTRAL

Hardin County:

160 +/- acres, located south of Ackley, recently sold at public auction for $11,600 per acre. The farm consisted of 145 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 84.2, and equaled $152/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

EAST CENTRAL

Cedar County:

111 +/- acres, located northeast of Tipton, recently sold for $14,700 per acre. The farm consisted of 109 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 84.5, and equaled $177/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHWEST

Mills County:

207 +/- acres, located north of Malvern, recently sold at public auction for $12,600 per acre. The farm consisted of 187 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 85.7, and equaled $163/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTH CENTRAL

Wayne County:

155 +/- acres, located southeast of Corydon, recently sold at public auction for $7,100 per acre. The farm consisted of 144 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 49.8, and equaled $153/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHEAST

Washington County:

116 +/- acres, located south of Washington, recently sold at public auction for $17,220 per acre. The farm consisted of 113 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 87.7, and equaled $201/CSR2 point on the tillable acres. Note: The sale price mentioned here includes the 5% Buyer’s Premium that was added to the high sale bid.

Hertz Real Estate Services compiled this list, but not all sales were handled by Hertz. Call Hertz at 515-382-1500/800-593-5263 or visit www.Hertz.ag. 

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