December 2021 Wallace’s Farmer “MarketPlace Extra”

Doug Hensley, Hertz Real Estate Services

Last month, I mentioned that harvest would likely conclude by Halloween. It now appears that the wet weather we experienced in mid-late October is going to push that bogey into November. As I visit with farm operators across Iowa, it seems a good week of weather will largely wrap things up. Despite abnormally dry conditions during the growing season for a good chunk of the State, 2021 crop yields have both surprised and impressed – with especially strong soybean yields. Commodity prices remain elevated.  However, looking forward to 2022, high corn input prices are giving pause. The pause is particularly true for dry fertilizer and anhydrous ammonia, where suppliers are messaging what is now becoming a common theme across the U.S. economy – supply shortages.

In the farmland market, there have not been too many shortages lately. No shortage of sales – volume has spiked with opportunist Sellers piling into the market. No shortage of buyers – farmers and investors have both been very active market participants. And no shortage of record prices – lots of recent $15-20k/acre sales across the State, and even a few sales well above that level. Without question, it has been an incredible year for Iowa farmland, supported by a year of likely record earnings, still-low interest rates, a 2022 commodities market with profit potential, and growing concerns about inflation in our nation (and farmland has historically performed well in inflationary environments). Will land prices continue to surge? I suspect that the run higher in land prices will moderate/level off this winter, as it seems that positive current conditions are being fully factored into recent land sale results. As the sales below indicate, however, enthusiasm for buying land has been high and widespread.

NORTHWEST

Sioux County:

157 +/- acres, located southwest of Rock Valley, recently sold at public auction for $14,200 per acre. The farm consisted of 151 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 84.6, and equaled $174/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTH CENTRAL

Franklin County:

80 +/- acres, located near Latimer, recently sold at public auction for $11,800 per acre. The farm consisted of 75 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 75.6, and equaled $166/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTHEAST

Fayette County:

77 +/- acres, located northeast of Oelwein, recently sold at public auction for $13,100 per acre. The farm consisted of 77 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 89.1, and equaled $147/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

WEST CENTRAL

Harrison County:

233 +/- acres, located northeast of Woodbine, recently sold at public auction for $17,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 238 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 88.2, and equaled $189/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

CENTRAL

Story County:

237 +/- acres, located near Cambridge, recently sold at an online virtual public auction for $14,700 per acre. The farm consisted of 230 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 84.4, and equaled $179/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

EAST CENTRAL

Johnson County:

76 +/- acres, located northwest of Swisher, recently sold at public auction for $21,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 77 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 93.1, and equaled $223/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHWEST

Mills County:

157.15 +/- acres, located south of Malvern, recently sold at an online virtual public auction for $14,500 per acre. The river-bottom farm consisted of 149 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 84.7, and equaled $181/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTH CENTRAL

Decatur County:                                                                                                         

100 +/- acres, located west of Garden Grove, recently sold at public auction for $8,100 per acre. The farm consisted of 96 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 52.0, and equaled $162/CSR2 point on the tillable acres. 

SOUTHEAST

Jefferson County:

79 +/- acres, located south of Batavia, recently sold at online auction for $13,200 per acre. The farm consisted of 75 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 71.2, and equaled $195/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

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.