Mike Pearson takes a look at farm land values and who owns large amounts of land in the USA>

Farmland values have varied the past few months.

For instance in Colorado, a 1,200 acre farm with a wind turbine sold for $1,594 per acre.

In Illinois, a pair of 80-acre fields brought $16,600 per acre.

And over in Iowa, 573 acres of pasture and timber brought $2.5 million or $4,360 per acre.

While in some areas, like the Northern Plains, prices continue to rise for irrigated farmland.

But overall, the declining farm income is impacting the market.

A recent survey by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Board found that farm income was down in the second half of 2024 compared to last year.

One of the biggest stories in land sales this month comes from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints-- the arm that owns farm land-- the Farm Land Reserve. The Farm Land Reserve is purchasing 46 farms across eight states. The $289 Million dollar cash deal will add these to the church's vast holdings which already includes 2.5 million acres world wide.

This is part of a growing trend of large organizations making large land purchases which increases the prices and hurts the farmer trying to purchase the land because they have capital many farmers don't.

In Nebraska, Farm Land Reserve already owns 370,000 acres.

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The church sees the land purchases as a long term investment strategy and they are helping to grow food.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness.