Prices for Tama County farm land rebounded a bit from a dip in value in 2018 in the annual Iowa State university Land Value Survey. It showed Tama County agriculture land at an average price of $7,842 per acre up from $7,510 in the 2018 survey, a 4.42% hike. Surrounding counties also saw a boost in value the survey – Marshall – $7,863 per acre up 5.24%, Benton- $8,336 up 4.28%, Black Hawk $9,014 up .87%, Grundy $8,997 up 3.31% and Poweshiek $7,486 up 5.06%. The state-wide average was listed at $7,432, a jump of 2.3% since 2018. Despite some negative factors, the report credits “favorable interest rates, strong yields, and limited land supply combined to help drive Iowa’s farmland values up for only the second time in six years.” “The land market in 2019 continued the plateau trend of the past several years in which the supply of agricultural land for sale on the market remained lower than average and prices for good quality cropland held mostly steady,” was the outlook form Farmers National company, the Omaha-based firm which bills itself as the Nation’s Largest Landowner Services Company. “The lower supply of land for sale had much to do with land prices being mostly steady as did having adequate demand for quality cropland. Lower quality farmland had less demand and in many cases was harder to sell. Investor interest in cropland increased somewhat in 2019 with several new entities entering the market and also from an increase in purchasing activity by existing institutional investors,” said Randy Dickhut, senior vice president of real estate operations for Farmers National. In the minus column, “(a)planting season (which) saw an overabundance of rain and delayed planting, the United States’ trade war with China persisted, skewing both commodity prices and demand, and farm bankruptcies rose to the highest level since 2011” the report notes. “The reprieve in the land market, unfortunately, is not driven by a much stronger farm economy,” said Wendong Zhang in a news release accompanying the report. Zhang is an assistant professor of economics at Iowa State University and is responsible for leading the annual Iowa Land Value Survey. ” This recent modest increase in land values reflects a lower interest rate environment and slowly improving U.S. farm income. However, we are still faced with significant uncertainty, especially the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, which has significantly affected U.S. agricultural exports, especially soybean exports, and lead to lower commodity prices and weaker farm income,” Zhang said. Zhang said the growth in Iowa’s land values was noticeably higher this year in the central crop reporting districts in which Tama County is included. “The Central districts saw larger increases than other districts due in part to stronger-than-expected crop yields over the past few years and strong urban demand,” Zhang said.He also noted that “strong recreational demand” has helped lift the value of low-quality land in the report. Low-quality land .in the Central, East Central, and West Central districts all saw increases of 5.0 percent or more Warning In a news release, Zhang warned while the growth in land values is a positive, that it should not be labeled as a “solid rebound” of the land market. “The Market Facilitation Program payments helped soften the blow and stabilize farm income and the land market; however, a no-deal or further escalation of the U.S.-China trade war on Dec. 15 will further amplify trade uncertainties and put downward pressure on farm income and land values,” Zhang said. “The future of farmland market still hinges on the pace and speed of Federal Reserve moves on interest rates, progress in the trade talks, and the availability of land parcels.” Land Values by County Eighty-two of Iowa’s 99 counties reported higher land values, the remaining 17 all saw a decline. For the seventh consecutive year, Scott and Decatur counties reported the highest and lowest values, respectively. Decatur County reported a value of $3,586 per acre, a gain of $97, or 2.8 percent. Scott County reported a value of $10,837 per acre, a gain of $300, or 2.8 percent. State Both Boone and Story counties reported the largest percent increase at 5.4 percent the ISU report said. Story County also saw the largest dollar increase by county at $455 per acre. Clay and Allamakee Counties reported the largest percent decrease-both showed a 2.2 percent loss since 2018. Clay County reported the largest dollar decrease in values at $151 per acre. Survey The ISU Land Value Survey was initiated in 1941, the first in the nation, and is sponsored annually by Iowa State University. The survey is typically conducted every November and the results are released mid-December. Only the state average and the district averages are based directly on the Iowa State survey data. The county estimates are derived using a procedure that combines the Iowa State survey results with data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture. The ISU Land Value Survey is based on reports by agricultural professionals knowledgeable of land market conditions such as appraisers, farm managers, agricultural lenders and actual land sales. It is intended to provide information on general land value trends, geographical land price relationships and factors influencing the Iowa land market. The 2019 survey is based on 679 usable responses from 553 agricultural professionals. Fifty-nine percent of the 553 respondents answered the survey online.