March 2023 Wallace’s Farmer “MarketPlace Extra”

The Iowa farmland market at the beginning of 2023 has largely ushered in a continuation of strong sale results from late 2022. While there are few new records being set right now, it does seem like there’s more of a leveling off in price action for quality Iowa farms. Interest rates have certainly moved higher from a year-ago, although we’re still not seeing much leverage being added to land purchases; buyers are regularly using cash from recent year profits to complete their acquisitions. Fertilizer prices in early February have backed up from last fall’s lofty levels, but overall input costs needed to plant the upcoming crop will still be measurably higher than a year ago. For example, when we look at budgets for 2023 corn production, we are seeing a lot of $5/bushel breakevens. This isn’t necessarily good or bad; it’s just reflective of a marketplace that is different than 2022, which we expect to continue trickling into the farmland market. As you can see in the sales below, there’s still plenty of strength out in the countryside when people decide they want to add to their operation or investment portfolio.  

NORTHWEST

Sioux County:

73 +/- acres, located north of Sioux Center, recently sold at public auction for $24,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 70 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 96.3, and equaled $259/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTH CENTRAL

Cerro Gordo County:

90 +/- acres, located southwest of Manly, recently sold at public auction for $6,900 per acre. The farm consisted of 74 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 62.6, and equaled $134/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTHEAST

Fayette County:

131 +/- acres, located just north of Maynard, recently sold at public auction for $9,450 per acre. The farm consisted of 126 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 77.7, and equaled $126/CSR2 point on the tillable acres. Note: This farm was very irregularly shaped.

WEST CENTRAL

Sac County:

111 +/- acres, located southwest of Sac City, recently sold at public auction for $16,300 per acre. The farm consisted of 109 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 86.8, and equaled $191/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

CENTRAL

Tama County:

118 +/- acres, located northeast of Gilman, recently sold at public auction for $16,300 per acre. The farm consisted of 114 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 88.6, and equaled $190/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

EAST CENTRAL

Jones County:

136 +/- acres, located south of Wyoming, recently sold at public auction for $13,600 per acre. The farm consisted of 136 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 81.5, and equaled $167/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHWEST

Pottawattamie County:

117 +/- acres, located southeast of Hancock, recently sold at public auction for $11,100 per acre. The farm consisted of 113 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 70.2, and equaled $163/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTH CENTRAL

Madison County:

40 +/- acres, located south of DeSoto, recently sold at public auction for $16,050 per acre. The farm consisted of 37 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 90.9, and equaled $191/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHEAST

Jefferson County:

68 +/- acres, located south of Brighton, recently sold at public auction for $12,100 per acre. The farm consisted of 62 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 83.1, and equaled $160/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

Hertz Real Estate Services compiled this list, but not all sales were handled by Hertz. Call Hertz at 515-382-1500/800-593-5263 or visit www.Hertz.ag. 

Related Articles