By Ryan Hanrahan
FERN’s Ag Insider reported Monday that “U.S. cropland is worth an average of $5,570 an acre, an increase of $1,510, or 37 percent, since 2020, said the USDA’s annual Land Values report. The surge in land values accompanied the four highest years of net farm income, a gauge of profitability, for American farmers.”
“The USDA said cropland value rose by $250 an acre, or 4.5% from 2023,” FERN’s reported. “It was the smallest increase since value began to rise in 2021, after six years of stability.”
“California cropland was worth $17,330 an acre, the highest average value in the country,” FERN’s reported. “Three Corn Belt states had land values above $9,000 an acre: Illinois, $9,550; Iowa, $9,800; and Ohio, $9,270.”
Progressive Farmer’s Katie Dehlinger and Chris Clayton reported that, in addition to the increased value of U.S. cropland, “the average pasture value was $1,830 per acre, a $90 per acre increase from 2023. That’s a 5.2% change. Farmers paid an average of $160 per acre to rent cropland, but rents on irrigated ground averaged $245 per acre while dryland rents averaged $146 per acre.”
Cropland and Pastureland Value by State
Dehlinger and Clayton reported that “most states saw cropland values increase. The exceptions are Colorado, down 2.1%; Montana, down 0.8%; and New Jersey, down 0.6%. Tennessee saw the largest year-over-year increase at 10.9%, and USDA noted that Appalachian states (Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia) saw the highest average increase over the past year at 8.4%.”
“In the Corn Belt (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio), cropland values climbed by an average of 4.5% to $8,560,” Dehlinger and Clayton reported. “The average cropland value in the Northern Plains (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota) was $4,040 per acre, an increase of 6.6%. Lake states (Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin) saw an average price increase of 4.2% to $6,470.”
“Pasture values increased in all states surveyed by USDA. Double-digit percentage gains were seen in Minnesota, up 13.9%; Virginia, 13.6%; Florida, 12.7%; New Mexico, 11.3%; and Iowa, 10.4%,” Dehlinger and Clayton reported. “The strongest regional gain was in the Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina). An acre of pasture cost an average of $5,510, or 10.6% more than in 2023. Prices in the Northern Plains climbed 6.6% to $1,450 per acre, while Southern Plains states (Oklahoma, Texas) saw values increase 6.4% to $2,160 per acre.”
Source : illinois.edu