As farmland values soar, so do fears of a price bubble
Flush with cash, farmers and investors have driven up farmland values this year at breathtaking rates — a 12 percent gain nationwide and more than 20 percent in three Farm Belt states. “Given recent experiences with fluctuations in the broader economy and prior farmland price dynamics, many market participants express concern that the rapid increase in farmland prices is a signal of a speculative bubble,” said three economists.
Iowa farmland value zoomed by 29 percent this year
Farmland in Iowa is worth an average $9,751 an acre – the highest value since Iowa State University began the annual survey in 1941. Values skyrocketed by 29 percent this year, fueled by high commodity prices, better than expected crop yields and large pandemic relief payments, said associate professor Wendong Zhang.
Farmland prices rise 5 percent in Britain over the summer
Property consultants Strutt and Parker said the price of cropland in England rose by 5 percent in the three months ending on Sept. 30, reversing a two-year decline, reported Agrimoney.
U.S. farm income noses upward after three years of declines
Commodity prices are still in a trough but U.S. farm income is on the rise for the first time since 2013 because producers are sending more crops and livestock to market than initially expected, said the USDA. It forecast net cash farm income, a measure of liquidity, of $100.4 billion this year, far stronger than the February forecast of $93.5 billion, but only three-fourths of the record set in 2013.