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: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.