As we enter August of 2021, we have been hearing concerns over who exactly is buying up the available farmland in the United States. There are trusts, corporations, and foreign countries that are buying up available farmland. Many are concerned with this, especially when one of the foreign countries is China. You don?t have to look very hard on social media to find farmers talking about it. However, one organization says that things are not as dire as they seem when you look at the data.
According to the Farmers National Company, most of the available farmland being sold in the United States is going to private farming operations of all shapes and sizes. Randy Dickhut is the Senior Vice President of Real Estate Operations at the Farmers National Company. He breaks down the numbers they have.
Not all states allow corporate purchases of land. However, in those states that do allow investment funds and corporate purchasing of land, farmers still make up the vast majority of purchasers.
Dickhut says that as the farm economy has improved with better marketing numbers, farmers are able to make more land purchases.
Since last fall, Iowa has seen the most buying activity for the rural states.
Dickhut says that while many producers out there think land is disappearing to investment groups, that is not the case. He says farmers are still the most aggressive when it comes to purchasing land.
Numbers have shown some Iowa prices as high as $18,000 per acre, and some Illinois farms going between $15,000 and $16,000 per acre.
