March 2026 Wallace’s Farmer MarketPlace Extra

Heavy snow in December. Then, a warm week around Christmas melted all the snow. Next, the bitter cold arrived with gusto in January and lasted most of the month. And as I sit here writing on Groundhog Day, it’s 20 degrees and gray, and there are no shadows to be had in Iowa, which according to tradition means spring will arrive early. It has surely been an up-and-down winter, so it seems an early spring would be welcomed by most! This also has me thinking that the farmland market across the State of Iowa has been more stable than the weather this year.

If anything, the current farmland market could almost be described as boring, as there have not really been many changes to the market in a few months.  Commodity prices remain low, and pulled slightly lower in January with a bloated-supply-side USDA report. But, we’ve been operating in this low commodity price environment for a couple years now. Supply of land offered to the market remains low, so that has also not changed. For most sales of medium-to-higher quality, there are a small handful of locals that have an appetite to add to their farming operations, along with an investor community that continues to value the long-term fundamentals that farmland offers. This reality is a big reason why land prices are stable. Mortgage interest rates have been floating in a fairly narrow range for months now, so there’s no apparent gamechanger there, either.

I said it last month, and I will say it again… until something fundamental changes on the supply side of land being offered to the marketplace – e.g., more land coming for sale – or more defined weakness on the demand side of the equation where people stop pursuing additional land for their farming business or investment portfolio, I see the land market continuing to tread water. Sure, in a market like we’re currently in, there can be a high spike sale here, or a weak no-sale there. But, with another government payment due to hit bank accounts before spring, it seems farmland values will continue to chop sideways on the economist charts. Once again, the very respectable sales below tell the story.

NORTHWEST

Lyon County:

Located southeast of Inwood, 103 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $22,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 100 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 (Corn Suitability Rating index) of 69.8, and equaled $325 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTH CENTRAL

Cerro Gordo County:

Located south of Rockwell, 160 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $14,700 per acre. The farm consisted of 154 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 82.7, and equaled $185 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTHEAST

Black Hawk County:

Located south of Dunkerton, 79 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $14,400 per acre. The farm consisted of 76 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 89.1, and equaled $168 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

WEST CENTRAL

Calhoun County:

Located northeast of Lytton, 58 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $13,600 per acre. The farm consisted of 58 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 86.4, and equaled $157 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

CENTRAL

Grundy County:

Located west of Grundy Center, 67 +/- acres recently sold via sealed bids for $18,022 per acre. The farm consisted of 65 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 93.3, and equaled $199 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

EAST CENTRAL

Benton County:

Located north of Newhall, 147 +/- acres recently sold for $15,250 per acre. The farm consisted of 146 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 91.1, and equaled $168 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHWEST

Mills County:

Located south of Glenwood, 302 +/- acres recently sold at timed public auction for $6,350 per acre. The farm consisted of 272 +/- tillable acres with an average CSR2 of 69.7, and equaled $101 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres. Note: The balance of acres with this property were in terraces, timber, and waste.

SOUTH CENTRAL

Madison County:

Located northwest of Lorimor, 80 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $8,400 per acre. The farm consisted of 76 +/- tillable acres with an average CSR2 of 56.6, and equaled $156 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.  

SOUTHEAST

Henry County:

Located north of Fairfield, 75 +/- acres recently sold for $10,450 per acre. The farm consisted of 70 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 70.7, and equaled $158 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

Hensley is president of Hertz Real Estate Services, which compiled this list, but did not handle all sales. Call Hertz at  800-593-5263  or visit hertz.ag.

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