Sara Schafer

Sara (Muri) Schafer, editor of Top Producer magazine, grew up on a family farm where they raised hogs and cattle, along with soybeans, corn, wheat, milo and hay. Since joining Farm Journal Media in 2008, she has covered a broad range of topics pivotal to the success of U.S. farmers. In addition to being an award-winning journalist, she has played several key roles with the transformative relaunch of AgWeb.com and spearheaded the Farm Journal Legacy Project expansion. Sara graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in agricultural journalism and a minor in agricultural economics. She resides in Columbia, Mo., with her husband and daughter.

Latest Stories
Despite a slower land market, Farmers National has seen a 29% increase in the number of acres sold by the company compared to last year and 22% over two years ago.
In the past few years, farmland values have been surprisingly resilient. Looking forward, however, prices may lean lower.
Farmland values continue to defy gravity in many regions of farm country. Here are three reasons farmland values could make a dramatic move.
The market value for farmland in the Cornhusker state dropped again in 2019. The average per-acre value is $2,650, a 3% drop from 2018.
Farmers continue to face declining farm income in the Midwest and Mid-South regions, according to the latest report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
For 2019, the national average for cash rents on cropland is $140 per acre, which is up $2 from 2018’s national average of $138.
For 2018, the national average for cash rents on cropland is $138 per acre, which is 1.5% higher than 2017.
The changing characteristics of farmland ownership and leases can create opportunities for farmers looking to expand their operations.
Here are just a few of the forces pushing and pulling the U.S. farmland market.
For 2019, Iowa’s average farmland is valued at $7,432 per acre. That’s an increase of $168, or 2.3%, from 2018 farmland values, according to the 2019 Iowa State University Land Value Survey.