Iowa sets farmland price record as 74-acre tract sells for US$20,000/acre, up from previous record of US$16,750/acre set in October

Andrew Rogers

DES MOINES, Iowa , December 8, 2011 (Associated Press) – Iowa has a new farmland price record.

The Des Moines Register says it happened on Wednesday when a 74-acre tract near Hull in Sioux County in northwest Iowa sold for $20,000 an acre.

The previous record was in October when a 120-acre parcel went for $16,750 per acre near Sioux Center, also in Sioux County.

Auctioneer Pete Polleman, of Hull, who called Wednesday's sale, says farmland in northwest Iowa is very valuable, with good commodity prices and a strong livestock industry.

Economist emeritus Neil Harl of Iowa State University calls the prices "amazing."

A survey or real estate agents in September put the state average at $6,477 an acre, an increase of over 30 percent in the last year. ISU will release its annual farmland survey Dec. 14.

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