With no-tillers earning higher per-acre returns than farmers still relying on extensive tillage, many are looking for more land to farm. That’s why you’ll find the results of a recent survey of land prices based on fertility levels to be of special interest because of your no-till experiences.

Offer Premium For Fertility.

Conducted by Doane Agricultural Service in St. Louis, Mo., with a grant from The Mosaic Co., the study demonstrates that you can afford to pay a premium price for farmland that is rated “high” for soil fertility (42 percent of the parcels). In fact, David Asbridge, business development manager at Doane’s, says you can afford to pay up to a 28 percent premium for this ground if you want to expand your no-till acreage. For ground with a “very high” fertility rating (2 percent of the parcels), you could afford to pay as much as a 62 percent premium.

This is the first study of its kind to relate soil fertility levels to land value. The results indicate that a landowner can definitely increase the value of his or her land by following a proper soil fertility program, says Ray Hoyum, head of international speciality marketing and new product development at Mosaic. The chart at left provides economic details.

Worth $2,176 Per Acre More.

As anticipated, land that tested “medium” for soil fertility (45 percent of the parcels) sold near the average price for a particular area. The medium-fertility ground sold for 36 percent less than the high-fertility…