(Radio Iowa) – Iowa D-N-R State Veterinarian Rachel Ruden says the cold weather freezing up waterways likely led to the deaths of Canada geese in southwest Iowa from avian influenza. Dr. Ruden says the birds grouped together on the remaining open water at Green Valley Lake and Lake of Three Fires. “A lot of places really closed up in terms of the open water, closed up in the past week with all the cold weather. Now that it’s warming up again, we can expect that the birds won’t have to congregate in as high of numbers, at least they maybe will distribute, you know more across the landscape, which can really help quell an outbreak,” she says. She says the forecast is calling for warmer temperatures, which would keep the water open and spread the birds out.

“We just have to kind of see where the winter goes, but if this year operates anything like last year, by early January, we really saw. outbreak activities subside,” Ruden says. Ruden says she first heard of mass deaths of snow geese in the Dakotas from avian influenza at the end of November. She says the pattern has been for deaths then happening in Missouri, and these deaths in Iowa are rare. “We have a lot of just eyes on the ground in the Des Moines metro, so we’re usually getting reports out of there. But southwest Iowa and really even southeast Iowa, we just don’t get many reports of mass mortality events south of I-80,” Ruden says. She asks the public to report any sick birds or dead birds.

“Either to the local wildlife biologist for that county or the county conservation officer so we can track those impacts, you know what species are being impacted,” she says. “We primarily see Canada geese, but we certainly see others animals that might be consuming the affected carcasses. So things like Red Tail Hawks are quite common to see also involved in these influenza outbreaks.” Ruden says you shouldn’t handle or touch sick or dead animals. “A lot of people have that impulse to help an animal in need, which is a wonderful impulse, but when there’s a infectious disease that can actually infect people as well, we really we advise you to keep your distance, report it,” she says. Ruden says once you report it the professionals will take over and handle it.

At least 60 geese died at the two southwest Iowa Lakes and testing confirmed it was from bird flu.

Cass County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.28
Adair County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.31
Adams County: Corn $4.08 Beans $10.27
Audubon County: Corn $4.10 Beans $10.30
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.14 Beans $10.28
Guthrie County: Corn $4.13 Beans $10.32
Montgomery County: Corn $4.13 Beans $10.30
Shelby County: Corn $4.14 Beans $10.28

Oats: $2.54 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Thursday (today) report H5 avian influenza has been confirmed in Canada geese at Green Valley Lake and at Lake of Three Fires. Staff with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) collected dead geese for testing at Iowa State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. Results were available late Wednesday.

Reports of dead geese at Green Valley Lake began on Dec. 11. Local staff began collecting geese off the ice but paused when weather conditions changed. As mild weather returned and the winds changed, the geese were more accessible and collection resumed. So far, an estimated 60 geese have been collected at the popular southwest Iowa state park. Local staff estimate thousands of geese are currently at Green Valley Lake as part of their fall migration.

The Canada goose migration had increased across much of Iowa since the end of November with the onset of cold, snowy weather. The Iowa DNR’s December 12 waterfowl survey showed the Canada goose population increased more than 30 percent over the previous week as northern lakes and marshes froze and fields were covered in snow.

“We are getting reports of influenza activity across the western half of the state, and, for the first time, mass mortality events impacting southwest Iowa which has remained fairly insulated since 2022,” said Dr. Rachel Ruden, state wildlife veterinarian with the Iowa DNR. How long the outbreak will last is uncertain. As the rain and mild weather open up additional feeding and roosting locations, waterfowl will disperse which should reduce opportunities for transmission.

The public is encouraged to keep their distance from sick geese or those that are easily approached without obvious sign of injury. Also keep pets from interacting with sick or dead birds or consuming carcass parts. While no human cases of H5 avian influenza have been linked to wild birds in the United States, there have been numerous cases linked to close contact with infected poultry and dairy cattle. Sick birds should not be handled or brought into shared living spaces.

Residents who see 20 or more carcasses in a small area are encouraged to call their local wildlife staff. Information is available online at https://www.iowadnr.gov/about/contact/staff-offices then scroll down to Wildlife Management Staff. Residents who find a single or a few birds can follow the steps for collection and disposal listed online at https://homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/resources/avian-influenza-resources.

“We encourage the public to report sick birds or other wildlife to your local wildlife biologist or conservation officer to help us track impacts of this disease. We all have a part to play in keeping Iowa’s wildlife healthy,” said Dr. Ruden.

Background

Avian influenza is a highly transmissible, naturally occurring virus found in certain waterfowl and shorebirds. There are various sub-types and strains, most of which cause limited harm to domestic poultry (low pathogenic) but some of which are lethal (highly pathogenic).

The H5N1 strain that has been circulating since 2022 is the first time HPAI has affected wild birds in North America at a large scale. HPAI can also affect animals that consume infected carcasses, including other birds like hawks, and mammals, like red fox. The virus can remain viable in a deceased bird or contaminated water for several weeks, depending upon environmental conditions.

Information for Waterfowl Hunters

Waterfowl hunters can use these simple precautions to limit their exposure while field dressing and consuming wild game: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fsc_hpai_hunters.pdf. Cooking meat to an internal temperature of 165° F can kill the virus, if present. Additionally, please bag and dispose of offal and carcass parts to prevent exposure to scavengers.

While there is some inherent risk to hunting dogs given the nature of their interaction with carcasses, sick birds often become poor, uncoordinated flyers and so are less likely to be harvested. Hunters should prevent dogs from interacting with unknown carcasses, and avoid feeding them raw meat from harvested birds. More information is available online at https://www.ducks.org/conservation/waterfowl-research-science/waterfowl-hunters-and-the-avian-flu-what-you-need-to-know.

AMES, Iowa – The annual Iowa State University Land Value Survey found that average farmland values increased 0.7%, or $83, to $11,549 per acre. The nominal value of an acre of farmland this year increased over last year’s nominal value, but is still about $286 per acre lower than the 2023 peak of $11,835.

Rabail Chandio, assistant professor and extension economist at Iowa State University, is responsible for the annual survey. Chandio said that she typically considers changes of less than 5%, whether up or down, as more of an adjustment than a true market change. “Changes of that size often reflect variation across counties and crop reporting districts rather than a consistent statewide trend,” she said. “It wasn’t a boom or a bust, just a very uneven adjustment, with the story changing as you move across the state. Strong yields, limited land supply and solid livestock income helped prop up values in some areas, but lower commodity prices, high interest rates and rising costs pulled them down in others.”

When the nominal value increases, but the inflation-adjusted value decreases as it did this year, it can still be helpful for farmers, but only to a point, Chandio said. “A farmer selling land this year will receive more dollars than last year, and that can still support goals like paying down debt (whose real burden also shrinks with inflation), transitioning to retirement or reinvesting elsewhere. In that sense, the higher nominal price provides some benefit,” she said.

However, when inflation-adjusted values fall, additional money from land sales won’t stretch as far as it might have previously. “Sellers may find that the proceeds won’t buy as much machinery, land or inputs as they would have a few years ago. So, while selling today can still improve a farmer’s financial position, the real economic gain is smaller than the nominal price increase suggests,” Chandio said.

Despite the small growth in farmland values, there were many factors putting downward pressure on farmland values this year. Chandio said one of those factors is federal interest rates, which only saw modest cuts in 2025. “Because we haven’t seen any major reductions, the market is still feeling the weight of the rate hikes from 2022 and 2023. And since interest-rate effects take years, up to a decade, to be fully capitalized in land values, those post-COVID increases are still working their way through the system,” Chandio said.

Commodity markets also put some pressure on land prices this year. Chandio called commodity prices “soft” but said that tariffs likely only played a small and indirect role in this year’s farmland values. “Tariffs may have been part of the background noise, but they weren’t a major driver of farmland values,” she said. Farmers, she said, are still just facing very tight margins on commodities, even with lower production costs.

Chandio said she feels one of the most interesting things about this year’s report is how divided the market has become. “Even though the statewide average ticked up 0.7%, most counties actually saw declines once you adjust for inflation, and three crop reporting districts posted nominal drops. At the same time, places in the northeast saw increases of 3­–4%, while parts of central Iowa slipped by 2–3%,” she said.

Land values by county

Sixty counties reported increases in nominal land values; however, 78 counties reported a decrease in inflation-adjusted values. O’Brien County had the highest value at $16,269 per acre, an increase of about $348 or 2.2%. Appanoose County had the lowest value $6,679 per acre, a decrease of $160, or -2.3%.

Dubuque County saw the largest dollar increase ($553 per acre), while Clayton and Allamakee counties saw the largest percent increase in values (4.4%). Kossuth County showed the largest percent decrease (-4.3%) and the largest dollar decrease (-$552 per acre).

Land values by district

Land values increased across six of Iowa’s nine crop reporting districts. The highest average land values were reported in the Northwest district, $14,522 per acre, while the lowest average land values were reported in the South Central district, $7,623 per acre.

The Northeast district saw the largest percent increase (4.1%) and the largest dollar increase ($481 per acre). The North Central district saw the largest percent decline (-2.6%) and the largest dollar decline (-$315 per acre) in values.

Land values by quality

Statewide, low-quality land averaged $7,580 per acre, a 1.7% or $130 per acre increase. Medium-quality land averaged $10,809 per acre, an increase of 0.6% or $69 per acre. High-quality land averaged $14,030 per acre, an increase of 0.7% or $101 per acre.

The Northwest district reported the highest dollar values for high-, medium- and low-quality land at $16,519, $13,507 and $9,792 per acre, respectively.

The South Central district reported the lowest values for high-, medium- and low-quality land at $10,677, $7,465 and $5,199 per acre, respectively.

Statewide, high-, medium- and low-quality land saw increases of 0.7%, 0.6% and 1.7%, respectively.

Factors influencing the market

Lower commodity prices were cited as a negative factor influencing the market by 32% of respondents, marking the most common factor among respondents. Other negative factors cited by respondents include long-term interest rates (22%) and tariffs and trade uncertainty (13%).

Limited land supply was cited most often as a positive factor influencing the market (21%). Other positive factors include strong yields (13%) and cash/credit availability (10%).

Land values were determined by the 2025 Iowa State University Land Value Survey, conducted in November by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Results from the survey are consistent with results by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the REALTORS® Land Institute and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, showing only small changes in the land markets.

The Iowa State Land Value Survey is based on reports from agricultural professionals knowledgeable about land market conditions, such as appraisers, farm managers, agricultural lenders and actual land sales, and is intended to provide information on general land value trends, geographical land price relationships and factors influencing the Iowa land market. The 2025 survey is based on 463 usable responses from 316 agricultural professionals. Sixty-nine percent of the 316 respondents answered the survey online.

The Iowa State Land Value Survey was initiated in 1941, the first in the nation, and is sponsored annually by Iowa State University. The survey is typically conducted every November, and the results are released in mid-December. Only the state average and the district averages are based directly on the Iowa State survey data. County estimates are derived using a procedure that combines the Iowa State survey results with data from the U.S. Census of Agriculture.

CARD offers a web portal that includes visualization tools, such as charts and interactive county maps, allowing users to examine land value trends over time at the county, district and state level.

For over 60 years, the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University has conducted innovative public policy and economic research on local, regional and global agricultural issues, combining academic excellence with engagement and anticipatory thinking to inform and benefit society.

Cass County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.32
Adair County: Corn $4.09 Beans $10.35
Adams County: Corn $4.09 Beans $10.31
Audubon County: Corn $4.11 Beans $10.34
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.15 Beans $10.32
Guthrie County: Corn $4.14 Beans $10.36
Montgomery County: Corn $4.14 Beans $10.34
Shelby County: Corn $4.15 Beans $10.32

Oats: $2.47 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – Many Christmas tree farms in Iowa are seeing a drop in sales this year, largely due to repeated weekend snowstorms and bitter cold temperatures. Their prime season typically lasts just two-to-three weeks in late November and early December, with most of the sales happening the weekend after Thanksgiving. Brian Moulds manages Wapsie Pines Christmas Tree Farm in Bremer County. “It’s almost sad,” Moulds says, “because you do all this work for a whole year, and it’s almost all done in less than two weeks.” Moulds says sales were higher than normal on Black Friday but they’ve mostly been below average since then. He estimates the farm’s gross sales are roughly 10 percent less this year compared to last year.

Joe Heintz, manager of Strautman Tree Farm in Story County, says most of their revenue is generated by customers who drive through their farm, choose a tree, and cut it down to take home. “So it was a unique season,” Heintz says, as ten inches of snow forced them to close their fields the weekend after Thanksgiving. “And those are our some of our busiest days of our season,” he says. “So, tree sales numbers this year were obviously down compared to previous years.”

Still, Heintz says tree farmers plan six to seven years ahead, so harvesting fewer trees this year helps bump up their supply for future seasons.

Cass County: Corn $4.13 Beans $10.33
Adair County: Corn $4.10 Beans $10.36
Adams County: Corn $4.10 Beans $10.32
Audubon County: Corn $4.12 Beans $10.35
East Pottawattamie County: Corn $4.16 Beans $10.33
Guthrie County: Corn $4.15 Beans $10.38
Montgomery County: Corn $4.15 Beans $10.35
Shelby County: Corn $4.16 Beans $10.33

Oats: $2.44 (same in all counties)

(Prices are per bushel; information is from the area Farm Service Agency [FSA] offices)

(Radio Iowa) – The top Republican in the Iowa Senate will be sponsoring a bill next year that would give developers like Summit Carbon Solutions more leeway in altering the route of pipelines. It would also apply to other utility infrastructure, like transmission lines. Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh of Spillville says for the past three months he’s been talking with Senate Republicans about ideas to resolve the debate over the carbon pipeline soon after the 2026 legislature convenes in January.

“We want to be respectful of private property rights. We want to minimize and all but eliminate the need to utilize eminent domain to build infrastructure,” Klimesh said “and that lies in widening the corridor, giving those companies the ability to find willing landowners that want to enter into an easement with them.” Under his proposal, once a company submits a proposed route to Iowa utility regulators, developers could adjust that route within a 10 mile corridor — to avoid property owned by people who don’t want the project running through their land.

“The goal ultimately is to all but eliminate the need for eminent domain for any infrastructure project to be constructed in this state in the future,” Klimesh said. “I think that shows that Senate Republicans want to be respectful of private property rights for folks that don’t want projects, but also allow private property rights to be exercised by folks that want to benefit from those easements.” Klimesh says last spring the legislature spent a lot of time navigating through a debate over a bill that was complex and he’s hoping a simpler solution prevails.

“Iowa is kind of unique compared to other states where we have a noticed corridor,” Klimesh said. “We don’t allow construction companies building infrastructure to deviate from that corridor. Some states have no noticed corridor requirement.” A dozen Republican Senators refused to vote on state budget plans last spring and joined Democrats in passing a wide-ranging pipeline bill that Governor Reynolds vetoed in June.

In late September Klimesh told Radio Iowa the pipeline issue wasn’t going away and he was searching for a solution that could unify Senate Republicans.

(Radio Iowa) – Members of the Iowa Farmers Union say they agree with Republicans who say something needs to be done about out-of-control health care costs, but the group’s executive director Matt Russell says letting thousands of Iowans lose the tax credits they’ve used to buy insurance — without having an alternative in place — doesn’t solve the affordability problem.

“What they have done is raised the costs for Iowans, including family farmers and rural entrepreneurs by thousands of dollars,” Russell said. According K-F-F — a health care research group, 27 percent of U-S farmers, ranchers and agribusiness managers have relied on subsidies to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. Seth Watkins raises cattle, sheep and bees in Page County. Watkins says insurance cost his family of four about 600-dollars-a month this year — and will nearly quadruple to 23-hundred dollars a month in 2026.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize that farmers and independent business people buy our own insurance,” he said. “I hear our politicians talk about us being the backbone of our economy and yet the people doing this that are making this have great benefits. I’d like them to put themselves in our shoes and understand what this is like.” Beth Hoffman, a Monroe County farmer, raises cattle and goats. She and her husband had been paying 300 dollars a month for insurance — and would have had to pay four times that much next year if they kept the same amount of coverage in 2026. They’ve opted for a bare bones plan with a seven-thousand dollar deductible.

“Here we are the United States of America (with) this great health care system, this place where we have some of the most wealth in the whole world,” she said, “…so it’s very disturbing on many levels.” Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman raises corn and hay in northern Polk County. “Our farmers right now are meeting with their lenders to try to find a plan just to get next year’s crop in the ground,” Lehman said. “The last thing we need right now is an increase in health care costs.”

The Affordable Care Act tax credits will still be available for households with an income under 400 percent of the federal poverty level, but the subsidies for households about that line that were extended in 2021 are scheduled to end December 31st.