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LAND VALUES<br />
SLOWING THE PACE<br />
Iowa farmland values rose higher<br />
in 2023 but the price-per-acre surge<br />
seen the previous two years abated<br />
BY NANCY MAYFIELD<br />
EASTERN IOWA FARMER<br />
In December 2021, Maquoketa real<br />
estate agent Chuck Schwager sold<br />
75 acres of high-quality ground for<br />
$19,900 in just 15 minutes at an<br />
auction, setting a Jackson County<br />
record.<br />
The previous October, 278 acres north<br />
of Elvira in Clinton County brought<br />
$17,500 an acre, recalled Alan McNeil,<br />
who represented the sellers along with<br />
Doug Yegge. Both are with the DeWitt<br />
office of Peoples, a national brokerage.<br />
That event followed two auctions they<br />
hosted the summer of 2021 that brought<br />
prices in the $15,000 and $16,000 range.<br />
At the time, the three men all noted that<br />
low interest rates, high yields, good commodity<br />
prices, cash on hand and limited<br />
land supply fueled both the crowds attending<br />
the live auctions and the resulting<br />
high per-acre price tags. All those factors<br />
and more – weather, economic policy,<br />
input costs, etc. – impact land values in<br />
Eastern Iowa.<br />
Many of the factors behind the large<br />
surge in values in 2021 and 2022 supported<br />
the increase in 2023 as well, said<br />
Rabail Chandio, an agricultural economist<br />
at Iowa State University, who presented<br />
the Center for Agricultural and Rural<br />
Development (CARD) annual land values<br />
survey results at the end of last year.<br />
“Interest rates were lower through the<br />
first half of the year, commodity prices<br />
were still elevated, crop yields were<br />
a positive surprise despite the weather<br />
challenges throughout the growing<br />
SALES<br />
PARTS<br />
Pictured from left to right: Jeff Blunt, Gene<br />
Hosch, Tony Scherbring, Tim Gott, Vic Kray,<br />
Quinton Fellinger, Kate Gravel, John F Vacek,<br />
John M Vacek, Trevor Schwendinger, Bryan<br />
Dunne, & Travis Cullen. Missing is Parker Kray.<br />
SERVICE<br />
YOUR FUTURE IN FARMING STARTS HERE!<br />
A vital part of your Scherrman’s Implement experience is our personalized and professional service.<br />
We deliver outstanding service with superior tools, training, and commitment.<br />
13951 RTE 52 • Dyersville, Iowa 52040 • 563-875-2426 | 711 South Main Street • Monticello, Iowa 52310 • 319-465-3519<br />
32 EASTERN IOWA FARMER | SPRING 2024 eifarmer.com
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