About half of Iowa farmland is expected to change hands over the next two decades, creating hurdles for young farmers to buy a piece of land.

It's hard to break into farming in Iowa.

That's not new. Access to farmland has been challenging young Iowa farmers for decades.

But it could get a lot harder with about half of the state’s cropland expected to change hands in the years to come.

Here are the conditions making things so difficult in Iowa for beginning farmers. More: Iowa farmland consolidation expected to grow as state faces 'tidal wave' of transition Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Iowa is losing farms and cropland

Iowa has lost about 9,800 farms over the past 25 years and about 2.3 million acres of cropland, data from the 2022 U.S. Agriculture of C

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