Ag Land Values In Mills, Fremont, Montgomery, Page Counties Soared In 2022


The value of ag land in Mills, Fremont, Montgomery and Page counties increased by 21.6 percent in 2022.

Mills, Fremont, Montgomery and Page counties in southwest Iowa all reported a 21.6 % increase in the value of farmland from 2021-2022, the highest percentage in the state of Iowa, according to results of the Iowa State University Land Value Survey.

The survey showed agriculture land values increased in Mills County from $8,966 per acre in 2021 to $10,900 in 2022. Meanwhile, Fremont County ag land values increased from $8,147 per acre to $9,904. During the same time period, the values went up from $7,484 to $9,099 per acre in Montgomery County and $6,824 to $8,296 in Page County.

Statewide, the survey showed an average acre of farmland in Iowa increased in value by 17 percent in 2022, from $9,751 to $11,411.

David Sieck, a Mills County farmer who serves in the Iowa House of Representatives, said he isn’t surprised by the substantial increase in ag land values for the four counties in the southwest corner of the state.

“We’re probably behind,” Sieck said during an interview Sunday. “If our counties were behind others, everything usually equals out. If I’m ahead of everybody else, usually it doesn’t rise as much. If I’m behind everybody, it may rise more because people say, ‘Heck, the land’s cheaper over here, we’re going to buy it.’

“That would be how I would understand that. Maybe we haven’t risen as much as some other areas of the state and we’re just catching up.”

All 99 counties showed an increase in ag land values. While the four southwest Iowa counties had the highest percentage inrease, Obrien County in the northwest part of the state experienced the highest actual dollar increase, rising $2,818 per acre to $16,531. Decatur County, in south central Iowa, reported the lowest ag land value in the state with an average of $5,566 per acre.

 

The Opinion-Tribune

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