Farmland value increasing in Iowa, survey finds

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Farmland values are rising sharply in Iowa, according to a semi-annual survey of real estate agents. The Daily Nonpareil in Council Bluffs reports that the survey released this weeks shows that tillable farmland value increased by 18.8% over the past six months. The statewide average value of $12,182 per acre compared to a value of $10,221 per acre in March. The September survey by the Realtors Land Institute’s Iowa chapter indicated that the year-over-year increase totaled 26.6%. RLI spokesman Matt Vegte called the value “pretty hefty for Iowa ag land.”