American farmland values skyrocket

Nov 18, 2021

American farmland real estate values jump by 18 percent over numbers from 2020 Q3 in a five-state region.

In the Seventh Federal Reserve District that includes all of Iowa and much of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, the Chicago Fed—aka the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago that serves the District—it is believed that the large increase in values is related to the higher crop prices achieved this year.

The 18 percent increase is the largest such jump in nearly 10 years, noted the Chicago Fed, and added that the valuation increase was aided by high incomes and low interest rates, and corn and soybean futures hitting multiyear peaks thanks to bad weather affecting yield.

On the downside, the high value of farmland adds to inflation concerns as raw material prices rise along with transportation rates—all bad news for consumers.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.