Those from high-value farmland areas might be interested in this comparison of investment returns. Some Iowa farmland is now above $5k an acre. I would rather have both if I could. Isn't there an old saying that those who have (or can produce) food would eventually have all the gold, if it came to that?
In 1960, you could buy property on a small deserted island in Southwest Florida for $1,000 per acre. That same property, today, will cost you $300,000-$500,000 for one-fourth of an acre. Chris
When asked what he would do with his million dollar lottery winnings, a farmer replied, "I'll just keep on farming until the money runs out."
I am originally from Iowa, and I can tell you that the land you are talking about is not worth what it sell for economically. What happens is that you have a lot of farmers who inherited millions of dollars in land, and are willing to mortgage those acres to acquire more for bragging rights. Those counties rarely have land for sale, so anyone successful in buying more land their is looked on as a successful farmer. Land is a good contra investment. It usually has a lower yield than other assets since it is viewed as a "safe" investment, the stuff that will keep you from starving if all of the financial markets melt down. The key is to buy some with some guaranteed yields, like a contract with a farmer or CRP with the government. I have a couple of quarters in Iowa just for this reason.
Farmland without legal water rights would be a real gamble if/when global weather patterns shift. Without water, you have no production. My agricultural county used to have US Fed. Rights of the River, but when the "power" came to play, The large cities on the coast, have been slowly buying the influence to take the water for lawns, golf courses, water parks. Water as a commodity will someday be more important than PM resources. IMO.
Both farmland and silver have been two of the few great investments in the past couple of years. The benefit of farmland over bullion is you can grow stuff on it, of course you might be able to buy some of that produce had you invested in the latter. I personally like the silver investment, because you can buy in much smaller (and affordable) increments.