FARM LAND VALUES IN IOWA. 13 



Eighty-one sales, or 8.8 per cent, were made primarily for the 

 purpose of settling or dividing estates or partnerships. It is prob- 

 able that most of these farms would have been sold sooner or later 

 to accomplish the purpose alleged, but it was thought desirable to take 

 advantage of favorable prices. Similar to this is the group of sales 

 classed under "financial difficulties, " although the number of these 

 sales is small. 



It is necessary to consider Tables V, VI, and VII together in order 

 to determine their probable significance. It seems clear that the 

 high prices of the "boom" period resulted in the sale of a larger 

 number of farms by nonfarming classes than were purchased by 

 these classes. The temporary agricultural prosperity born of war 

 prices resulted in more farms being acquired by farmers, both owners 

 and tenants, than were sold by farmers. Consequently it is prob- 

 able that as a result of the tendency for absentee owners of farms to 

 unload their holdings at "boom" prices, an immediate result of the 

 "boom" will be an increase in the proportion of farms operated by 

 owners. 



Tins conclusion is further strengthened by the fact that of the 

 number of buyers who definitely indicated their intentions, except- 

 ing those whose intentions were to resell, about two-thirds indicated 

 that they would operate their farms rather than rent them to others. 

 On the other hand, of the farms sold, 54 per cent had been operated 

 by tenants before sale. In 1915 the Iowa State census showed the 

 percentage of tenancy for the State to be 41. It is highly improb- 

 able that the percentage of farms operated by tenants increased 

 from 41 to 54 during the 4-year period 1915 to 1919. Consequently 

 the conclusion seems justified that a larger proportion of farms 

 operated by tenants were sold than was the case with farms operated 

 by owners, another indication of the tendency of nonfarming owners 

 to unload during the "boom." 



DIVISION OF INCREMENT BETWEEN DIFFERENT CLASSES. 



An analysis of the total increase in value from the sale of farm 

 lands was made for 392 cases in 22 counties. The total increase in 

 value for these cases was $7,038,346. Of this increment $3,327,084, 

 or 47 per cent, was received by people dwelling in towns or cities, 

 while $3,711,262 was received by people dwelling in the country. 

 However, these increments of value represented the difference 

 between the price at the time of sale and the price at which the 

 farm was bought, no matter how long ago the purchase was made. 

 If we isolate the cases in which the property was purchased since 

 March 1, 1918, and the sales effected during the period of the "boom," 

 the total increment is $1,036,582. Of this amount $718,030, or 



