COUNTY FARMLAND VALUES TUMBLE

    REGIONAL – Farmland values in Shelby County and surrounding counties dropped considerably for the third straight year, according to a survey released this month by Iowa State University.
    Shelby County’s farmland values dropped 7.18 percent from $8,288 per acre to $7,693 per acre from 2015 to 2016, according to the survey.  Similar drops were seen in adjoining counties (see accompanying graphic).
    The decline regionally and statewide is the third drop in a row, the first time this has happened since the 1980s farm crisis.  Average Iowa farmland value as a whole is now estimated to be $7,183 per acre.