About 1 hour ago the newest Iowa Land Values report was released by Mike Duffy at Iowa State University.  This years report has been especially anticipated given the current economic climate in the United States.  The following chart sums up the current Iowa land market all in one glance.  Western Iowa and west central Iowa came in strong in this years report with the strongest gains in farmland values with Monona County being the strongest at 19.9% increase in value.

A few interesting facts from this years report. 

• The 2008 state average for all grades of land was estimated to be $4,468 per acre.
• The increase in the state value was $560 per acre from 2007.
• The percentage increase was 14 percent from 2007.

Analysis by Crop Reporting District. 

• The highest land values were reported for Northwest Iowa, $5,395 per acre.
• The lowest land values were estimated for South Central Iowa, $2,573 per acre.
• The greatest percentage increase was in West Central Iowa, 19.6 percent.
• The least percentage increase was in South Central Iowa, 10.7 percent.

Analysis by Counties. 

• The highest value was estimated for Scott county, $6,310 per acre.
• The lowest value was in Decatur county, $2,002 per acre.
• The greatest dollar increase was $891 in Sioux county.
•  The greatest percentage increase was 19.9 percent reported in Monona county Iowa. 

Analysis by Quality of Land.

• Low grade land in the state averaged $2,967 per acre and showed a 11.7 percent increase or $311 per acre.
• Medium grade land averaged $4,195 per acre and showed a 14.4 percent increase or $528 per acre.
• High grade land averaged $5,381 per acre and showed an increase of 14.8 percent or $695 per acre. 

Investor Activity v. Farmers

• The majority of farmland sales, 69 percent, were to existing farmers.  Investors represented 24 percent of the sales.  New farmers represented 3 percent of the sales and other purchasers were 4 percent of sales.
• Sales to existing farmers by Crop Reporting Districts ranged from 83 percent in West Central to 55 percent in South Central and Southwest.
• Sales to investors were highest in Southwest (38 percent).  West Central reported the lowest investor activity (13 percent).