A survey showing Iowa's farmland values dropped for the first time in nearly 10 years does not surprise agriculture experts.

The survey by the Realtors Land Institute indicates farmland values declined by an average of 7.6 percent in the past six months. That hasn't happened since September 1999.

Iowa State University farm economist Mike Duffy said the decline fits a trend that began late last year, when the Federal Reserve estimated a 6 percent drop in farmland values during the fourth quarter.

"It's reflective of a lot of the problems in the overall economy, agriculture in particular," Duffy said. "We had that run up for the last couple of years due to the ethanol boom. The bloom came off that rose."

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