Land Values Blogs

Learn how conservation easements work, their tax benefits, key USDA programs, and how they impact agricultural property valuations in transitional markets.

When corporations decide to dispose of real estate outside of core urban markets, they often encounter a unique and complex set of challenges.

Soil productivity indexes are among the most valuable tools for classifying farmland. These indexes offer a consistent way to measure agricultural land. Soil types and characteristics can vary significantly not just from one region to another, but between neighboring properties.

For investors with conviction in well-developed agricultural investment strategies, a disciplined approach, and an ability to truly hold for the long-term, the opportunity to assemble a high-quality California farm portfolio of scale has never been better.

While farmland value is primarily driven by land quality, water rights, and production potential, agribusiness assets are valued based on operational efficiency and EBITDA performance, with technology, processing capacity, and supply chain management playing key roles.

The appraisal team at Peoples Company was able to track 62 tracts or 5,934 acres sold at public auction in Iowa during June 2025. The average dollar per acre was $11,129, the average dollar per tillable acre was $13,003, and the average dollar per CSR2 was $159.

Peoples Company tracks agricultural auctions across the state of Iowa. From this data, we calculate the average dollar per CSR2 point ($/CSR2) for sales of tracts with greater than 85% tillable land. Additionally, these tracts are largely unimproved or include minimal improvement contribution.

In farm and rural real estate appraisal, it is essential to understand that the aggregated value of a property is not always equal to the disaggregated value of its parts.

The appraisal team at Peoples Company was able to track 28 tracts or 2,007 acres sold at public auction in Iowa during May 2025. The average dollar per acre was $9,289, the average dollar per tillable acre was $11,895, and the average dollar per CSR2 was $160.

The appraisal team at Peoples Company was able to track 69 tracts or 6,511 acres sold at public auction in Iowa during April 2025. The average dollar per acre was $12,136, the average dollar per tillable acre was $15,979, and the average dollar per CSR2 was $185.