1. Iowa State Land Value Survey Started in 1942; time series available since 1950 Mailing list is updated through County Extension Offices Approximately 1100 surveys mailed each year Approximately 600 useable surveys per year; at least 3 per county

2. Iowa State University Land Value Survey Calculations Step 1: By county, calculate the average value for high, medium and low quality land reported in the survey Step 2: Calculate weighted average county values (weights from 1977 survey of H,M,L quality land in each county)

3. ISU Land Value Survey Calculation (cont) Step 3: Adjust weighted value by the relation of the county value to the average value in the Walker district from the last Census of Agriculture Note: Walker districts are counties with similar CSR ratings. Step 4; Adjust the adjusted weighted county values by the number of common border miles with adjoining counties in a different Walker district

4. Iowa State Land Value Survey Purpose of the adjustments is to account for changes in surrounding counties Adjustments allow estimates to be based on more than just the respondents for the county Adjustments have been done consistently for the past few decades

9. Possible Changes to Calculating ISU Land Values Use simple weighting scheme with weights gained from the 1977 survey Use weighting system with weights determined by CSR and land in each county Use State wide values to determine the range for high, medium and low based on thirds; 0 – 40 CSR is low; 41 – 68 CSR is medium; and > 68 is high

21. Issues with ISU Land Value Survey Using alternative weighting system is easier CSR weighting system allows comparison based on yields Problem with changing data set series How far back we can reconstruct is unknown Reliability of the data set with just simple weights

22. Iowa State Land Value Survey Recommendations Leave the estimation procedure as it is Increase the sample sizes by trying to expand the survey list Evaluate possible fifth step in the estimation procedure to help further account for relative changes in the county values and the Walker districts