Iowa cropland values edged up 1.3% on a statewide average between September 2025 and March 2026, according to the Land Trends and Value Survey presented by the Iowa Farm and Land Chapter #2 REALTORS Land Institute.
Tillable acre values rose across all nine of Iowa’s crop reporting districts. The East Central district posted the largest increase at 2.0%. Survey respondents identified commodity prices as the leading market driver, followed by land supply and interest rates.
Pasture values increased 2.6% over the same six-month period. Timber and recreational land values rose 2.2%.
“The survey reflects what we are seeing. Although there is weakness in commodity prices, there is strong demand for high-quality land, so the values remain strong,” said Eric Schlutz, accredited land consultant and manager of the Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors Muscatine office.
Dennis Stolk, accredited land consultant and farm and land specialist with Ruhl Farm & Land, pointed to the cattle industry as a stabilizing factor.
“The farmland market continues to show great overall pricing stability given the tight profit margins in farming, especially for grain producers. Livestock production, especially the cattle industry, has experienced better income prospects, which has helped our farmland market. High-quality land in our eastern Iowa market remains strong due to sustained good demand and continuing short supply of land for sale. We expect this stability to continue, but will remain aware of changes in commodity prices, yield expectations, geopolitical shifts, and overall economic conditions that may affect future land values,” Stolk said.
Long-term sentiment is broadly optimistic: 70% of survey respondents said they expect land values to increase 0-10% over the next five years, while only 5% anticipate values to be lower.
As of March 1, 2026, per-acre values in eastern Iowa districts were as follows:
- East Central: High-quality cropland, $15,240; medium-quality, $12,013; low-quality, $8,461; pasture, $5,515; timber, $5,066.
- Northeast: High-quality cropland, $14,919; medium-quality, $12,308; low-quality, $9,136; pasture, $5,713; timber, $5,181.
- Southeast: High-quality cropland, $14,539; medium-quality, $10,690; low-quality, $7,462; pasture, $5,579; timber, $5,038.
- Survey estimates reflect bare, unimproved land valued on a cash-sale basis.
- Ruhl Farm & Land is a division of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, a family-owned company founded in 1862 with 10 offices across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois, and southwest Wisconsin.
