Despite the recent softening in the market for farmland in Iowa and other states, many buyers continue to overpay for land based on the revenue it can generate in today’s tougher farm economy, a leading agricultural economist said recently.

"I think mistakes are being made in the land market today, and most of it is an overestimation of land assets," said Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at Wells Fargo Corporation. He was the keynote speaker at Iowa State University’s 88th annual Soil Management and Land Valuation Conference...