If land value is any indication, the last decade was a good time to be in farming.

In the past 10 years, the value of farmland has more than doubled across Wisconsin and tripled or more in several west-central Wisconsin counties, according to a new state report.

"It is not unexpected, if you follow the agriculture industry closely," said Tim Jergenson, Barron County UW-Extension Agricultural department administrator. "In the last 18 months, I've worked with a lot of farmers who say, 'I can't get enough land.' The competition is fierce."

The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in July released the annual survey showing 2007 land sales.

In Barron County, the average value of land sold nearly tripled from $847 an acre in 1998 to $2,444 in 2007. Values also nearly tripled in Eau Claire, Buffalo and Pepin counties.

Values more than tripled in Pierce County, which went from $1,249 to $4,223, the highest in the region.

The values are based on land that was sold for continuing agricultural use. In Barron County for example, farmland that was sold in 2007 for non-farm use averaged $2,501 an acre.

One reason values are jumping is that some land is being sold for purposes other than agriculture, leaving fewer acres for farming at a time when commodity prices are high and farmers want more land for planting, Jergenson said.

"People are converting farmland into residential for housing or buying it for recreational purposes for hunting," Jergenson said. "It was often people out of the area that wanted that land."

With the scarcity of good farmland, the market is driving the value up, he said.

"Farmland that goes up for sale doesn't stay on the market for long, not in this neighborhood," Jergenson said.

Jerry Clark, Chippewa County UW-Extension crops and soils educator, isn't surprised to see that farmland value in Chippewa County doubled from an average of $1,030 in 1998 to $2,084 in 2007. He expects an even bigger jump coming next year.

"We have had land go for $3,500 to $4,000 in some areas," Clark said. "The demand has gone up as commodity prices increase."

Corn prices, which only a couple of years ago, were $2 a bushel surged to about $8 a bushel earlier this summer. Jergenson said the market has cooled in recent weeks, back to about $5 a bushel, which still is well above what farmers had been getting in recent memory.

The highest values for farmland are properties adjacent to cities, Clark said.

"The (village of Lake) Hallie area would be one, or anywhere immediately north of Chippewa Falls," Clark said.

In recent years, farmers have struggled through some dry summers. Quality of soil is a big factor in sales, with farms on the western half of Chippewa County generally having drier, sandier soils, which retain less moisture.

"The land value will be driven by soil type and what makes farming easier," Clark said. "Topography and fertility plays a factor."

Smaller farmers certainly try to buy farmland near their existing properties, but larger farmers who have more than 1,000 acres will go after quality land, even if it's a bit farther away, Jergenson said.

"Those folks are pretty well set up to be mobile, so they will aggressively go after farmland a few miles away," Jergenson said.

Jim Faust, Dunn County UW-Extension ag agent, also isn't surprised that farmland has more than doubled there in the past decade. "The commodity prices are the best they've ever been," Faust said.

However, input costs, from nitrogen to fuel to feed, have made it riskier than ever for farmers, and a bad year can be devastating. "Things have gone askew," Faust said.