Farmland values have risen sharply over recent years but only in certain parts of the country. A firm specializing in agriculture economy trends crunched the numbers to find out where the biggest changes have taken place. They found the most accelerated growth happened between 2020 and 2022.
“There’s sort of a bulls-eye when you look at the middle of the country. Kansas stands out with a 42 percent increase in cropland values over those two years. That’s a huge change in equity, a huge change in asset values. And then, as you work your way out of Kansas, we see big changes in Nebraska, South Dakota as well, also Iowa, and then we see the rest of the Corn Belt,” David Widmar with Ag Economic Insights said.
The group found farmland values increased at a much smaller rate in other parts of the U.S.
“Throughout other parts of the country, we’ve seen increases over those last few years in all the states but areas in the southwest like Arizona. Or places in the southeast like the Delta States which have seen much more modest increases. For example, a 9% increase in Louisiana compared to 42% over the last few years in Kansas, so increases across the board, but the story hasn’t been consistent,” Widmar said.
“I think the magnitudes are what’s surprising; maybe not the fact that there is a differential, but the magnitude is what’s really big. For example, South Dakota in 2010 and 2022 had a 7.9% annual increase in those cropland values. So less than every decade those values are doubling, and South Dakota’s on the high end of the extreme. But if we go to Arizona or New Mexico, both of those have had a less than one percent annualized rate of increase.”
According to NASS, farmland values averaged $3,800/acre last year. That’s up more than 12 percent from 2021.
