Welcome to DreamDirt. This is the blog and website of Iowa Auctioneer Jason Smith . We are Farm and Ranch Real Estate Auctioneers and offer marketing services to sellers of farmland. You can contact Jason directly at (712)592-8965 or by email Jason@DreamDirt.com

If you are interested in selling a farm outside of Iowa and you don't know where to start we'd be glad to help you find a qualified marketer in another state. Drop us a line telling us what type of property you have, where its located and we'll help you find the right service for your needs. Jason@dreamdirt.com

CSR stands for Corn Suitability Rating which has a big influence on the value of tillable farmland in Iowa. CSR is an index procedure developed in Iowa to rate each different kind of soil for its potential row-crop productivity. Soil profile properties and weather conditions are the dominant factors that affect productivity. Slope characteristics are major factors that determine how land should be used. Slope gradient and slope length affect potential erosion rates, water infiltration, and ease and efficiency of machine operation. CSRs provide a relative ranking of all soils mapped in the state of Iowa based on their potential to be utilized for row-crop production.

Have you ever heard an agent refer to a "Pocket Listing"? Pocket listings are farms we know are for sale, but not listed. In other words for one reason or another a person has told us "I don't want to list it but feel free to bring me offers" Sellers do this for various reasons, sometimes they don't want neighbors or family to know, sometimes they know several real estate agents and don't want to offend the other.

What you can't find in my listings, I may very well have as a pocket listing so its important to call and open the conversation, let me know what you are after and if I don't have it, I'll certainly keep an eye out for you and that doesn't cost you a dime!

Total number of farms (2010) 92,400
Total amount of farmland (2010) 30.8 mil acres
Average farm size (2010) 333 acres
Average dollar value per acre (2010) $5,064
Average temperature (2010) 48.1 degrees F
Range of temps 13.2F in Jan to 75.3F in July
Average annual precipitation (2010) 45.10 inches
Harvested acres of corn for grain (2011) 13.7 mil
Corn Production (2011) 2.33 billion bushels
Corn Yield (2010) 165.0 bu/acre
Corn Value of Production (2010) $11.7 bil
Harvested acres of soybeans 9.26 mil acres
Soybean production (2011) 468 million bushels
Soybean Yield (2010) 51.0 bu/acre
Soybeans Value of Production (2010) $5.81 bil
# of cattle and calves on hand (2011) 3.90 mil head
Cattle and calves, cash receipts (2010) $2.92 billion
Number of hogs on hand (2010) 19.1 mil head
Total annual hogs marketed 37.4 million head
Hogs, cash receipts (2010) $ 5.38 billion
Number of sheep on hand 210,000 head
Total annual sheep marketed 175,500 head
Sheep and lambs, cash receipts $28.3 mil
Total annual red meat production 6.57 bil pounds
Milk Production (2010) 4.34 billion pounds
Dairy, cash receipts (2010) $713.1 million
Average number of egg layers on hand 54.25 mil
Total annual egg production 14.61 bil eggs
Value of egg production (2010) $824.3 million