Greetings! Land auctions in Iowa picked up a little last week. There were a total of 776 gross acres offered at auction last week. Of those acres, 653 acres were tillable. I would describe last week’s auction results as “stable.”

A few of the highlights from last week: an 80-acre tract in Wapello County sold for $7,150/acre, another 80-acre tract in Plymouth County sold for $9,900/acre, and a bottom farm in Harrison County sold for $6,250/acre. There was one “no sale” in Dallas County, and it was a CRP farm. The land auctions continue to pick up. Please keep checking back to get the dirt on weekly land auction prices.

By the way, did you know Peoples Company has the resources to make you successful? One of those resources is the annual Land Investment Expo, scheduled this year for January 29, in West Des Moines. Keynote speakers for the 2016 land conference include:

- James “The Ragin’ Cajun” Carville and Mary Matalin, the renowned political insider odd-couple

- Real estate economist Mark Dotzour

- Dennis Gartman, editor and publisher of The Gartman Letter

- Rob Saik, CEO the Agri-Trend Group

- Ben Zaitz of Ben Zaitz and Sons and an American cannabis farmer

- Dr. Bruce J. Sherrick, Professor of Land Economics at the University of Illinois

Conference-goers will again face the challenge of choosing just two of the 10 breakout sessions covering a range of highly relevant topics and emerging trends important to the farmland asset class. Save the date for January 29, and register now to gain a global perspective while taking in a ground-level view at this robust, one-of-a-kind, ag conference in Iowa, the heart of American agriculture.

If you’re interested in attending please, follow this link and register today.

Please check out our December auction results. Please make sure and hit the “like” button on Facebook.

Talk to you soon!

Thanks.

Jim Rothermich
Certified General Appraiser
Peoples Company Appraisal Team