(NAFB) – After several years of modest gains and losses, the average value of an acre of Iowa farmland skyrocketed 29 percent in 2021.

The nominal value of an acre of farmland is now higher than at any point since Iowa State University began surveying values in 1941, and is 12 percent higher than the previous peak in 2013. However, the current value in inflation-adjusted terms is still lower than that for 2012 and 2013. The last time farmland values increased more than 25 percent was in 2011, when values rose 32.5 percent.

An Iowa State University researcher says, “The increase this year is in part due to much stronger commodity prices thanks to higher exports, stronger than expected crop yields, and strong ad hoc COVID-19 related government payments.”

The survey found that the average statewide value of an acre of farmland is $9,751, an increase of 29 percent, or $2,193, since 2020.