Land prices have doubled in Iowa over the past few years

Land prices have doubled in Iowa over the past few years. The team at Planet Money conclude that the land boom throughout the agricultural U.S. Midwest is being driven by “real” economic forces. They identify low interest rates, grain traders, and government subsidies for ethanol as key drivers of this boom. Low interest rates are enabling land purchases. Grain traders and the demand for ethanol are driving up corn prices which in turn make land for growing corn more dear. Starting with auctions in Iowa, Planet Money takes us to a part of the country that is booming while much of the rest of the country is stagnating.

Finally, one “seasoned farmer” warns that this boom is indeed a bubble and points to the crash in land prices in the 1980s after a similar period of exuberance.

Listen to “The Tuesday Podcast: The Land Boom“