Ag land values have remained surprisingly stable so far in 2025, despite uncertainty in the real estate market.
One expert says that it all comes down to simple economics.
According to Paul Shadegg, the Senior VP of Real Estate for Farmers National Company, “There’s a huge appetite for ag land in the U.S. from both producers, investors, non-traditional land buyers, and that’s what’s keeping the train on the tracks. Then that other side of it is the limited supply, and so that supply-demand scenario is really what’s holding things strong.”
He says that producers are still the primary purchasers of farmland. He says that buyers with cash on hand tend to use it when a neighboring farm comes up for sale.
When it comes to prices, he says that regional differences are definitely a factor.
“We always see a lot of strength and stability in the ‘i’ states— in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana. And there’s pockets there that seem to have seen some decreases, as much as 5% and some that are pretty flat,” Shadegg adds. “When we go into the Dakotas, there’s either a latent effect there, but they’re still seeing some increases as much as 5% pretty general, and so that’s probably the bright spot, and then when we get into those outlying areas, anytime that we see some irrigation water, drought issues, things like that, we’re seeing some depressed values there.”
Last year, the value of U.S. farmland averaged just over $4,000 an acre, marking a compound annualized growth rate of 5% compared to the five years prior.
The Farm Bureau is making an urgent call to Congress for more farm support. Colton Lacina with Farmers National Company joined us to discuss farmland values and how market dynamics for the year ahead reflect stabilization rather than collapse.
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