2017 ISU Land Value Survey

The 2017 Iowa State University Land Value Survey showed an increase in land values for the first time since 2013. The estimated $7,326 per acre statewide average for all qualities of land represents a 2.0 percent increase from November 2016. This increase is largely driven by limited land supply, favorable interest rates, and strong crop yields.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_pubs/1419/thumbnail.jp

Agricultural land management and downstream water quality: Insights from Lake Erie

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been a serious issue in Lake Erie since the 1960s. The blooms, which are harmful to wildlife and humans (NOAA 2009), occur when phosphorus levels are high within the lake. Recently, HABs have been increasing in extent and intensity in the western basin of Lake Erie. The cyanobacteria Microcystis produces toxins that pose serious threats to animal and human health, resulting in beach closures and impaired water supplies, and have even forced a “do not drink” advisory for the City of Toledo water system for several days in the summer of 2014

Who buys and rents Iowa’s farmland?

Farmland is arguably the largest single item in a typical investment portfolio of U.S. farmers and USDA Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) projects nearly $2.3 trillion in real estate equity for the US farm sector in 2014, which accounts for about 85$259 billion dollars of wealth in the state of Iowa. After enjoying a decade of growth, farmland values in Iowa and in the Midwest is expected to further decline, which sparks recent interests on topics related to land values, land ownership and land tenure. Who owns, buys, and rents Iowa’s farmland, how it is farmed, and who will be vulnerable to potential declines in value are important questions for the future well-being of both Iowa farmers and the agricultural sector in the state in general

Recent developments in China and impacts on US agricultural trade

There is never short of changes and surprises in China. The past two years have been extremely interesting for producers and policymakers watching Chinese agricultural markets. In particular, China’s President Xi promised to extend all farmland contracts by another 30 years, China ended the costly $9-$10/bu corn support price program in 2016 and unveiled a new nationwide mandate of E10 fuel. This article introduces several key points of these policy changes, their motivations and impacts on the US agricultural trade

2016 Iowa Land Value Survey

The 2016 Iowa State University Land Value Survey showed a drop in land values for the third consecutive year—the first time this has happened since the 1980s farm crisis. The estimated $7,183 per acre statewide average for all qualities of land represents a 5.9 percent decline from November 2015. This decline is largely driven by low commodity prices and diminishing livestock returns.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_pubs/1815/thumbnail.jp

The Commonalities and Differences between Chinese and US Agriculture

With one in four rows of soybeans planted in Iowa exported to China, it is almost impossible to overstate the importance of the Chinese economy and its consumers have for US agricultural producers and the farm sector in general. However, there is a lack of understanding of China’s agricultural industry and, in particular, the life and work of a typical Chinese agricultural producer. Having been born and raised in a rural Chinese county, I want to share some of my observations regarding the commonalities and differences between Chinese and US agriculture

2018 Iowa State University Land Value Survey: Overview

Farmland represents over 80 percent of all U.S. farm assets, and is arguably often a farmer’s single largest investment item, a major source of collateral, and a key component of the farmer’s debt portfolio. Since 1950, the Iowa State University Land Value Survey has been the only data source that provides a county-level land value estimate for each of the 99 counties in Iowa. The 2018 Iowa State University Land Value Survey reported a 0.8 percent decrease to $7,264 per acre in average Iowa farmland values from November 2017 to November 2018. This modest drop is the fourth decline in Iowa farmland values over the past five years and represents a 17 percent decline from the 2013 peak in nominal land values, or a 24 percent drop in inflation-adjusted values. The recent decline is largely attributable to lower commodity prices, higher interest rates, and to some extent the trade disruptions. On the other hand, the magnitude of this decline is still very modest and overall the land market is largely stable. In general, the results from the 2018 Iowa State University Land Value Survey echo results from other surveys, which all showed relatively stable farmland market trends

Four Reasons Why We Aren’t Likely to See a Replay of the 1980’s Farm Crisis

T HERE ARE plenty of alarming signs indicating a possible farm crisis: current corn prices are half the 2013 peak level of US $7/bushel; farm income has declined for major commodities (corn, wheat, cattle), falling from the previous year to levels well below recent years; weak farm income and worsening credit conditions continue to trim farmland values, which are expected to trend lower in the months ahead, thus weakening the equity position of producers and the collateral value for lenders. Given the heightening farm βinancial crisis, many agricultural lenders, academics, and other stakeholders in the US farm sector worry another farm crisis is looming. However, there are four economic and legal reasons why this farm downturn is unlikely to slide into a sudden collapse of agricultural markets

Iowa farmland market update: Are we seeing a replay of the 1980s?

There have been three major “golden” eras in U.S. modern agriculture over the last 100 years: 1910 to 1920, 1973 to 1981, and the most recent one was 2003 to 2013, fueled by growing export demand from China, the historically low interest rates and the expanding biofuel market. Figure 1 shows the nominal and inflation-adjusted Iowa land values since 1910, and Figure 2 shows the inflation-adjusted gross and net farm income for the U.S. in the same period. Both figures reveal that with these golden eras, farmland values, commodity prices, and farm income often reached record heights. It is also pronounced that shortly following the first two golden eras the agricultural sector has contracted heavily: The first one ended in a long, drawn out decline in land values from 1921 to 1933, the second golden era ended with a sudden collapse from 1981 to 1986