"Why 158 acres of corn costs $1.5 million"

That's the title of a blogpost and podcast from Planet Money.

Farmland has become ridiculously expensive in Iowa.  Yes, corn and soybean prices are running about double what they were five years ago but land values have tripled.  Meanwhile, the cost of inputs from fertilizer to seeds have gone way up in price.  A couple of years ago prime Iowa farmland went for $3000/acre.  The woman selling a farm in this story received $9,900/acre.

It's hard to get the feeling this is yet another bubble... but the thinking is that as the world population grows the demand for grains (that get fed to animals) will grow and grow.  I don't think farmland is selling for $9,900/acre based on current prices but, rather, the expectation that it will be $10+ in the relatively near future.

I wouldn't bet the farm on that.