Statewide Iowa — (RI) — The man who conducts the annual Iowa State survey on farmland values says many owners have been able to weather the downturn in the farm economy because they don’t have to make payments on their ground.
Wendong Zhang says it’s something that goes with the profile of the state’s residents.
He says there also seems to be a lot of carry over from the days of record-high commodity prices.
But Zhang says there is a growing concern about the continuing increase in the number of farm bankruptcies as the economic downturn continues. He says when land is sold it continues to be mainly an Iowan to Iowan sale.
Zhang says the land that is available comes after the owner retires or passes it on.
Zhang says those sales are most often to family members or other farmers.
