08/29/24 Afternoon CommStock Report – The Future of Century Farms

Every so often I get asked what I think about farmland prices. Farmland ownership works as a long-term investment. At least farmland can be physically walked upon while stock values in some instances disappear entirely. There have been better times than others for best opportunities to buy farmland but the timing for selling is most often dictated by other factors such as settling estates and alternative investments opportunities. Farms are often called family farms because families do own most of them. Our family received the state recognition for having a Century Farm at this year’s Iowa State Fair. We were late in our application as my great-great grandfather bought the farm in 1896. The farm must be 40 acres or more of Iowa farmland held by decedents of the original owners. The award, given by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Department of Agriculture, was created in 1976. 277 Century Farm awards were added in 2024 so that they now total over 21,000. They also give Heritage Farm awards to families that have owned farms 150 years. They added 162 Heritage Farm awards to a total of over 2,000. As time goes on the number of Heritage Farms…