Soil Management Land Valuation Conference to Return in May

Contacts:
Wendong Zhang, 515-294-2536; wdzhang@iastate.edu

March 31, 2021

AMES, Iowa – The longest-running conference offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will be offered May 19 via Zoom.

The Soil Management Land Valuation Conference – now in its 93rd year, was canceled last year due to COVID-19 concerns. The conference returns with timely updates for farm managers, rural appraisers, real estate brokers and others interested in the Iowa land market.

“The conference offers networking opportunities for those who have an interest in agricultural land, land management and land valuation,” said Wendong Zhang, assistant professor and extension economist at Iowa State. “Additionally, participants have an opportunity through an online survey before the conference to ‘gaze into their crystal balls,’ and will be asked to provide their estimates of future land values in Iowa and corn and soybean prices via an online survey distributed before the conference.”

The conference is sponsored by the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and ISU Extension and Outreach and will be held virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, May 19, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Seven current issues and their implications to soil management and land valuation will be discussed. The issues are: agricultural policy priorities in 2021, presented by leading congressional staffers; agricultural carbon credits program for farmers; the weather outlook and its impacts on agricultural production; how Coalition to Support Iowa Farmers is helping livestock producers; agricultural market outlook; the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on land and asset values; and key developments in agricultural law and regulations, such as the Waters of the United States rule and estate tax reforms.

“We are really excited to bring this conference back and although this year we are offering it through Zoom, participants will still have the chance to talk about the issues affecting land values and farm management,” said Zhang.

Registration, the agenda and a full line of speakers are all available on the event website.

Participants can receive six hours of real estate and appraiser continuing education credits from the Iowa Real Estate Commission and the Real Estate Appraiser Examining Board, respectively. There will also be three $50 gift card giveaway opportunities for the participants throughout the day.

For more information, contact Wendong Zhang at 515-294-2536 or wdzhang@iastate.edu.