November 2022 Wallace’s Farmer “MarketPlace Extra”

Harvest season in Iowa has started strong this year. In late-September and early-October, Hurricane Ian pounded the Gulf Coast of Florida and the eastern seaboard of the U.S., thereby stalling the typical flow of weather systems through the Midwest. That left moderate temps and mostly blue skies in place for an unusually nice stretch of weather, allowing for terrific soybean cutting conditions, and helping to dry a standing corn crop without the need for dryer gas.  Early yield reports I’ve received are matching or slightly above 10-year APH levels in most areas, excepting for a few dry areas in west and southwest Iowa.

The fall farmland sales calendar across Iowa is full again this year, although not overflowing in the same way it did in 2021, when a record number of land sales (mostly auctions) occurred in a very short period. Recent land sales reflect continuing overall strength in the marketplace, supported primarily by a still strong commodity price environment. However, higher interest rates and high prices for 2023 inputs are both beginning to factor into the farmland market. These divergent realities – good crop prices vs. high interest rates and high input prices – are somewhat offsetting to equate in a farmland market that has leveled off.  As I’ve shared with many folks regarding the 2022 land market, a record land sale is still possible, but not every sale will be a record like it was last year. You can see that playing out in the sales reported below.

NORTHWEST

Sioux County:

80 +/- acres, located southwest of Granville, recently sold at public auction for $26,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 78 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 91.3, and equaled $292/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTH CENTRAL

Cerro Gordo County:

170 +/- acres, located near Clear Lake, recently sold at public auction for $11,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 162 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 79.2, and equaled $145/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTHEAST

Fayette County:

190 +/- acres, located north of West Union, recently sold at public auction for $14,200 per acre. The farm consisted of 190 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 73.5, and equaled $193/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

WEST CENTRAL

Greene County:

160 +/- acres, located northwest of Bagley, recently sold at public auction for $16,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 151 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 87.3, and equaled $194/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

CENTRAL

Hamilton County:

218 +/- acres, located north of Stanhope, recently sold at public auction for $12,800 per acre. The farm consisted of 215 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 79.0, and equaled $164/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

EAST CENTRAL

Linn County:

98 +/- acres, located south of Springville, recently sold at public auction for $20,200 per acre. The farm consisted of 98 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 92.3, and equaled $218/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHWEST

Page County:

141 +/- acres, located southeast of Shenandoah, recently sold at public auction for $11,300 per acre. The farm consisted of 129 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 77.4, and equaled $159/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTH CENTRAL

Marion County:

125 +/- acres, located northwest of Pleasantville, recently sold at public auction for $11,500 per acre. The farm consisted of 119 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 73.2, and equaled $165/CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHEAST

Mahaska County:

85 +/- acres, located northeast of Pella, recently sold at public auction for $13,350 per acre. The farm consisted of 84 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 76.5, and equaled $176/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.