Greetings! It was a very active week for land auctions in Iowa. There were a total of 2,800 acres offered at auction. Of those acres, 2,577 acres were tillable. Wow! This land market is active and is solid as a corner post. Some of the highlights include a sale in Sioux County for $14,200/acre, Lyon County for $12,600/acre, Jasper County for $13,000/acre, and Plymouth County for $10,000/acre. There were a couple of “no sales” in Calhoun County, yet were successfully negotiated after the auction. There was also a “no sale” in Poweshiek County and the farm is still for sale. Poweshiek County has produced some really high auction prices the past couple of weeks. There was one sale in Clay County that had a tract of WRP and sold for $875/acre.

With the amount of land coming to auction, this market is currently being tested. It appears to be very stable if not gaining some strength. I will be watching this week to see if it will hang in there, but so far it is. I still think the better than expected yields this past harvest has added optimism. It appears the extra bushels have compensated for low grain prices. One comment I consistently hear when collecting auction results is how big the crowds are at land auctions. The Iowa land market is good despite what you might hear. Please take a look at our October auction results. Check back next week for the dirt on weekly land prices.

Talk to you soon!

Jim Rothermich
Certified General Appraiser
Peoples Company Appraisal Team