I can offer my opinion on farmland in Minnesota, Iowa, related states in the cornbelt. Its going up gradually from here. It will follow inflation, at very least. Also will follow comodity prices, which will follow inflation unless more drought drives them higher yet suddenly. A couple months ago in Iowa, 80 acres was purchased by a local farmer for the highest price ever paid in Iowa for farmland - I beleive it was $21,500 per acre. Yea guys, thats nearly 1.75 million for an 80 !!! Interestingly, there were four other bidders until $20,000 was hit. These are guys with cash in hand, not speculators but farmers. They realize that the cash is worth far less than the land. Your choice is: hold cash that will be worth 4% less every year due to inflation or put it into an investment. Gold pays no dividends at all. Stocks are so questionable due to the games being played in the market. Farmland earns 4-5% per year renting it out to an operator, and has gone up in value since the last correction in the 80's. In the 80's most farmers were highly leveraged. Today the average debt is much lower, and in many cases is zero, except for a yearly operating loan. Land I bought in 2008 is now worth twice as much as it was then, and it has earned 4-5% every year. Imagine an investment that you can buy, rent out to collect 5%, appreciates every year with rent amount following value, will pay for itself in 20 years, is excellent loan collateral, can't be stolen. Hindsight being 20/20, I wish I had purchased twice as much in 2008. The problem is finding some for sale. Most sales take place without publicity to a neighbor or friend. You need to get your feelers out to brokers, to get them to call you as soon as something comes up. There are lots of good tools online now for the counties, to allow you to determine the land's value in crop raising, helping you put a price on it, or at least comparing it to other land. The county ASCS office can help get you started.