Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2020

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Pictured: Garrett Moeller (manager),
with Paisley (dog) and Caylee Ploessl.
908 Riverview St.,
Bellevue, IA
or online methods the past six
months due to the spread of
the virus,” he said.
The high bid in Schwager’s
recent online auction was
$5,500 an acre.
“This sale reflects the market,
which is holding steady
with very little movement up
or down,” he said.
Despite the uncertainties
and challenges in the agriculture
industry this year, land
values have held their ground,
and sales have “reflected a
strong market in an area where
there isn’t much land available
for sale,” Schwager said.
Land values in Eastern
Iowa decreased a mere 0.2%
in March from September
2019, according to the spring
Iowa Land Trends and Values
Survey.
For the state overall, values
increased 0.1% percent in
March from the previous
September and were up 0.9%
year-over-year. Crop reporting
districts were consistent with
less than a 1% change in most
districts with the Southeast
district seeing the largest
increase at 1.8% and the South
Central District seeing the
largest decrease at 1.3%.
For the 10-county East
Central region of the state
– which includes Cedar,
Clinton, Jackson and Jones
counties – modest gains were
seen in high-quality cropland
($10,181/acre from $10,048/
acre) and in non-tillable
pasture and timber. Slight
decreases were seen in medium-quality
cropland ($7,598
from $7,659) and low-quality
cropland ($4,984 from
$5,017).
The survey is compiled and
released every six months
by the Iowa Farm & Land
Chapter #3 REALTORS Land
Institute, an arm of the National
Association of Realtors for
realtors who specialize in farm
and land sales, management
and appraisal.
Schwager, who is a member
coronavirus
“COVID-19 has certainly
affected the availability
of land on the market
across the state.
June showed a reported
16% decrease in land
auctions compared with
June 2019.”
— Chuck Schwager
of the group, noted some of
the reasons he believes land
values have held relatively
steady the past couple of
years. Market Facilitation Program
(MFP) payments, good
yields in some locations, and
favorable interest rates have
helped, he noted.
MFP payments are designed
to assist farmers affected by
tariffs and reduced exports.
Corn, soybeans, hogs and
dairy are among the commodities
eligible for the program.
Land values have been in
a decline mode following a
peak in 2013. Over the last six
years, about six declines have
occurred, all relatively modest.
However, the 2019 figures
represent the second growth
phase in the past six years.
As the agriculture industry
continues to weather the pandemic,
every sector is seeing
an impact.
“COVID-19 has certainly
affected the availability of
land on the market across
the state,” Schwager said.
“June showed a reported 16%
decrease in land auctions
compared with June 2019.”
He expects there may be
more land on the market this
fall due to some potential
sellers holding off earlier this
year due to the coronavirus. n
80 Eastern Iowa Farmer | fall 2020 eifarmer.com