June 2023 Wallace’s Farmer “MarketPlace Extra”

As I write this article the first week of May, I look outside to a sunny day… but it’s 45 degrees and windy.  Not ideal spring growing conditions!  In recent years, I cannot remember a more uneven start to the growing season.  I know people who started planting with a warm stretch of air temps the 2nd week of April and are now done planting; and I also know people who have not yet started planting because they did not believe soil temperatures were yet warm enough for them.  I think we’re all ready for spring to come and stay, but as we all know, Mother Nature makes her own decisions.

Farmland sales have seasonally slowed while farmers across the State and region shift focus to getting the crop in the ground.  As the sales noted below demonstrate, most of the transactions we’ve handled and observed through the end of April have been traded at strong prices.  There’s still a ton of cash sloshing around in the countryside, and demand for quality farms has been stable.  Looking ahead to summer and fall sales, the outlook is slightly more uncertain.  While old crop grain is still very valuable with a strong basis in most Iowa regions, new crop grain prices have weakened recently and margins are tighter.  There will be more to discuss and write about once the growing season kicks into full gear.  For now, know that spring land values have essentially been flat.

NORTHWEST

Lyon County:

80 +/- acres, located northwest of Inwood, recently sold at public auction for $20,400 per acre. The farm consisted of 79 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 68.5, and equaled $301/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTH CENTRAL

Wright County:

81 +/- acres, located near Goldfield, recently sold at public auction for $14,800 per acre. The farm consisted of 80 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 82.8, and equaled $181/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTHEAST

Chickasaw County:

149 +/- acres, located northwest of North Washington, recently sold at public auction for $12,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 144 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 84.2, and equaled $148/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

WEST CENTRAL

Ida County:

148 +/- acres, located northeast of Ida Grove, recently sold at public auction for $13,500 per acre. The farm consisted of 147 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 76.5, and equaled $178/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

CENTRAL

Boone County:

39 +/- acres, located northeast of Woodward, recently sold at public auction for $14,100 per acre. The farm consisted of 35 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 84.8, and equaled $185/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

EAST CENTRAL

Johnson County:

117 +/- acres, located west of North Liberty, recently sold for $16,600 per acre. The farm consisted of 112 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 85.4, and equaled $203/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHWEST

Fremont County:

79 +/- acres, located south of Percival and west of I-29, recently sold at public auction for $9,100 per acre. The farm consisted of 75 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 82.9, and equaled $116/CSR2 point on the tillable acres. Note: This farm is located in the Missouri River Bottom.

SOUTH CENTRAL

Wayne County:

140 +/- acres, located west of Allerton, recently sold at public auction for $6,850 per acre. The farm consisted of 129 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 53.9, and equaled $138/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.  Note: This was a mix-use farm, as the tillable acres were being used in row crop production, hay production (17 +/-), and CRP (36 +/-).

SOUTHEAST

Washington County:

47 +/- acres, located south of Kalona, recently sold at public auction for $13,300 per acre. The farm consisted of 47 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 76.0, and equaled $175/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. 

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