Farmland: Eye on Iowa

When Warren Buffett talks up farmland, it’s time we all took a look. Buffett made the following statement last month while being interviewed by Becky Quick on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
 
“If you took all the gold in the world, it would make a 67-foot cube. It would be worth about $7 trillion, about a third of the value of all the stocks in the U.S. So you can own gold, which can do nothing, or stocks. You could also have farmland. If you gave me the choice, between all the farmland in the country, stocks like Exxon Mobil, or gold, I’d choose the stocks and the farmland.”

– Warren Buffett
CNBC Squawk Box
March 2, 2011

Iowa by the numbers:
92: Millions of acres of corn planted in 2011, the second largest crop since World War Two
35%: Estimated amount of 2011 corn crop used for ethanol
$1.04: Growth of $1 invested in S&P 500 since 2000
$2.72: Growth of $1 invested in Iowa farmland in 2000
You only have to look at the change in Iowa farmland values between 2000 and 2010 to see how it compares to the S&P 500.

Source: Chicago Federal Reserve Bank