Farmland Values in U.S. Rise 9.4% to $2,900 Per Acre

By Alan Bjerga – Aug 2, 2013 U.S. farmland values climbed 9.4 percent this year as high prices paid for crops and livestock after last year’s drought bolstered real-estate while commodity prices fell, the Department of Agriculture said. The average value of all land and buildings on farms and ranches in the 48 contiguous states was $2,900 an acre, according to a June survey of farmers, the USDA today said in an annual report , up from $2,650 a year earlier. The drought that spread through the Corn Belt and Great Plains last year prompted record insurance payments and will push farm profits to a record $128.2 billion this year as growers rebuild inventories, the USDA said in February. The most expensive farmland was in New Jersey at $12,700 an acre, followed by Rhode Island at $11,800, according to the USDA. The cheapest was in New Mexico at $550 an acre. The Corn Belt was the most expensive of the 10 regions tracked by the USDA, averaging $6,400 an acre after gaining 15 percent from the previous year. The Mountain region had the lowest prices, averaging $1,020 per acre. The USDA will update its farm profit forecast on Aug. 27. To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Bjerga in Washington at abjerga@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net Taylor Scott International