Podcast de Ag Tech Talk: Repensando el valor de la tierra en la era de la agronomía moderna
8 de enero de 2026 En este episodio de Ag Tech Talk by AgriBusiness Global (ABG), we talked with Jim Zimmer, Operating Partner at Granite Creek Capital and Co-Founder of Moraine Farmland Partners, about how farmland valuation is changing in the era of advanced agronomy and precision technology.
Zimmer, who also serves as an investor and board member at Elemental Enzymes and has spent more than a decade advising Beck’s Hybrids, brings a unique perspective that spans investment, on-farm productivity, and agricultural innovation. We discuss the evolution and limitations of the traditional soil productivity index, why decades of innovation have outpaced its usefulness, and how yield history, management practices, and modern tools like drainage, seed technology, fungicides, and precision planting are reshaping what farmland is worth today.
Transcripción del podcast:
*This is an edited and partial transcript.
ABG: Can you walk us through some advanced agronomic practices that can transform Class B or C land into higher-output assets, like seed innovation, drainage, or precision planting?
Jim Zimmer: Absolutely. If you look back over the last 45 years, we’ve seen major shifts across several agronomic areas. Seed technology has advanced dramatically, and planter technology has evolved right alongside it. Today, we’ve got precise seed singulation, far more consistent emergence, and access to fungicides that simply didn’t exist 45 or 50 years ago. Drainage systems have also improved significantly.
All of these contributors add up to higher productivity — and interestingly, the lower-productivity soils have benefited the most. For example, in Champaign County, IL — one of the higher productivity index counties in Illinois — corn yields have moved from about 123 bushels in 1980 to roughly 216 bushels in 2024, about a 75% increase.
ABG: And what about lower productivity index counties? Are you seeing the same trend?
JZ: Even more so. Take Edgar County, IL, which has lower productivity index soils. Yields there have grown from around 115 bushels in 1980 to more than 220 bushels in recent years — close to a 90% increase. These lower productivity index soils are catching up faster because modern agronomic tools are having a greater relative impact. That’s one of the key reasons the traditional productivity index rating is becoming outdated. Buyers need to consider Productivity Index as a factor in determining land value, however recent year revenue trends should be the primary indicator for the value of the land.
¡Obtenga el boletín hoy!
