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Ag land values and cropland cash rents reach record levels amid falling commodity prices
Agricultural land values increased by an average of $200 an acre over last year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The “Land Values 2024 Summary” report, released on Aug. 2, shows a 5% increase to an average $4,170 per acre.
This follows a 6.7%, or $250, increase between 2022 and 2023 and marks the fourth consecutive increase in agricultural land values. Cash rent values for cropland were up 3.2% to a record $160 per acre and up 3.3% to $15.50 per acre for pastureland.
This annual report provides one of many indicators of the overall health of the agricultural economy, according to AFBF economist Daniel Munch, writing in the Aug. 5 edition of MarketIntel, which is produced by the AFBF economic analysis team and provides market and policy insight and analysis. While record rental rates are an increased production expense for renters, on the flip side, when land values stagnate or decrease, so do collateral values, limiting farmers’ ability to secure loans and access the increased capital needed to acquire higher-cost inputs, Munch added.
“The U.S. average farm real estate value, a measurement that includes the value of all land and buildings on farms, clocked in at a record $4,170 per acre,” he said. He noted, however, that this 5% increase over last year is less than the 6.7% bump between 2022 and 2023 and much less than the 11.7% increase between 2021 and 2022, which was the largest change since 2006, when values increased 14% over 2005.
NASS also released nationwide data on cash rents, with the increases in land values translating to increases in cash rent.
“Cash rent tends to be more of a lagging indicator, and likely will be reflected in future producer-landlord negotiations,” Munch said. Average U.S. cropland rent increased to $160 per acre this year, a 3.2% rise over 2023. Irrigated cropland rents increased 3.4% to $245 per acre, while non-irrigated cropland rents increased 2.8% to $146 per acre.
The full report from MarketIntel can be found here.
