As recession sinks stock investments, farmers are comforted by relatively stable land prices

"It seems that Midwestern farmers who are close to retirement, and who invested in their land, made the right choice," as opposed to stocks that fund most retirements and that have sunk in value, Howard Berkes reports for National Public Radio. The appreciating value of farmland continues to cushion the nest eggs of many Midwestern farmers such as Dan and Lorna Wilson of Paullina, Iowa. (Berkes photo).

Historically, farmland prices dip like everything in a struggling economy, but the drop in this recession has been smaller than usual. Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University in Omaha, told Berkes that is due to corn-based ethanol production and demand for other crops. Rentals to cell-phone and wind-energy firms also increase the land’s worth and provide cash income.

Berkes reports that the Wilsons bought their first 80 acres for just under $1,000 an acre; today, they estimate it's worth $4,000 an acre. Investing in land is not foolproof, though, and a decrease in organic food consumption could easily affect the Wilsons' revenue, because their sons raise organic hogs on the land, as well as crops. But for now, Dan Wilson feels secure. “As long as it can keep producing a crop and the crop's worth something, [farmland] is a good thing to own.” (Read more)