Since 1941, Iowa State University has conducted an annual land value survey to collect and analyze information on land values in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. This year, Wendong Zhang, an assistant professor of economics, has taken over responsibility as lead researcher on the project.

The results of the 2015 survey show that the statewide average value of farmland fell by 3.9 percent ($310 per acre) from November 2014, which marks the first time that Iowa land values drop two years in a row since 2000. The average estimated value of Iowa farmland is now about $7,633 per acre.