Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 3/29/21

The cost to buy or rent farmland in the Midwest continues to climb higher, fueled by high commodity prices, unprecedented federal aid and low interest rates, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Farmers are placing larger and larger bids on parcels, according to brokers in the region, in a rush to acquire valuable property and ramp up production after years of pain in the industry, caused by trade headwinds, crop gluts and the pandemic.
— Some farmland is even selling for a higher price than during the agricultural boom nearly a decade ago, when land values more than tripled in top farm states like Iowa and Nebraska.

The downside: Many farmers, especially younger producers, don’t have the resources to compete for available land that’s selling for a premium. It’s not just higher demand: America’s farmland has shrunk by 25 percent since 1950, according to USDA data.

Large agricultural operations now dominate most of the remaining 900 million acres. Just 13 percent of farms control 75 percent of farmed croplands, per USDA. The steep prices only accelerate consolidation by preventing smaller farmers from expanding.