The Iowa State University Farmland Value survey showed a shift this year in the county with the highest land value. ISU’s Rabail Chandio oversees the survey.
Scott County in eastern Iowa had held the top spot for farmland value for many years before it recently switched to the northwest. Chandio says another shift saw lower quality ground in southern Iowa top the list for increases in dollar value.
She says the increase in the southern farmland value is tied to uses outside of farming.
Chandio says the southern counties have lagged behind others in price increases because the normal land value issues don’t impact them as much.
Chandio says the purchase of land for recreational uses like hunting hasn’t changed the overall profile of land buyers.
Chandio says the investor activity is higher in the southern part of the state and the investors say their primary reasons for buying land are more recreational.
