Farm Credit Services of America releases its benchmark farmland values through end of 2022
OMAHA, NEBRASKA – January 19, 2023 – Benchmark farmland values continued to tick up in the last half of 2022, supported by high commodity prices and demand from buyers with strong liquidity. The pace of increase, however, has slowed. The steep hikes of 2020 and 2021 tapered to single digits in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota at the close of 2022.
Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica), a financial cooperative serving agriculture, appraises the same 63 farms and ranches every six months to track trends in the real estate market. The six-month change below reflects values as of January 1, 2023. The number of benchmark farms in each state is indicated in parentheses.
State | Six-month change | One-year change | Five-year change | Ten-year change |
Iowa (21) | 3.4% | 12.9% | 64.7% | 39.8% |
Nebraska (18) | 5.1% | 14.3.% | 38.2% | 28.6% |
South Dakota (22) | 9.2% | 17.3% | 34.6% | 51.7% |
Wyoming (2) | 12.4% | 29.7% | 64.0% | 119.9% |
Values are up for both cropland and pasture. Some of the pastureland in the benchmark study sits in areas hit hard by the 2022 drought. Limited supply and continued demand for pasture helped to keep values stable.
State | Pastureland: Six-month change |
Nebraska | 0.1% |
South Dakota | 0.5% |
Wyoming | 13.5% |
The biggest factor shaping land values is profitability in agriculture, said Tim Koch, executive vice president of business development for FCSAmerica. Producers’ balance sheets are strong coming off three years of near record to all-time high profits.
Rising interest rates would typically have a negative impact in real estate prices, however strong demand and ample liquidity have contributed to continued gains in values across the Midwest.
Buyers, however, may be getting more selective, said Matt Clark, an economist with Terrain, a service of FCSAmerica, Frontier Farm Credit and American AgCredit. While median prices for farmland went up in 2022, the difference between the highest and lowest prices was wider than it has been in many years, he said. (For Clark’s full report, visit TerrainAg.com.)
Cash rents also are a factor for some buyers. Investor interest in farmland picked up in 2020 and 2021, as people looked for a safe alternative to a volatile stock market. But, Koch said, investor interest has slowed as increasing prices have resulted in reduced returns on farmland and the yield on alternative investments has improved.
Cash Rents* | 2022 | 2021 | Change |
Iowa | $256 | $233 | 9.0% |
Nebraska | $211 | $198 | 6.2% |
South Dakota | $165 | $158 | 4.3% |
Wyoming | $54 | $53 | 2.9% |
* Average cash rents above were collected by USDA as of August 2022 and are the most current available.
Profitability in agriculture will continue to shape the real estate market in 2023. Producers, on the whole, enter a new growing season in a very strong financial position, Koch said. And while profit margins are tightening due to higher input costs, producers anticipate a fourth consecutive year of profits.
Tightening profit margins will likely slow the pace of future real estate price appreciation, however favorable producer sentiment and the strong financial position of producers will continue to provide price support in the near term.
About Farm Credit Services of America
Farm Credit Services of America is a customer-owned financial cooperative proud to finance the growth of rural America, including the special needs of young and beginning producers. With nearly $37.6 billion in assets and $6.9 billion in members’ equity, FCSAmerica is one of the region’s leading providers of credit and insurance services to farmers, ranchers, agribusiness and rural residents in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Learn more at fcsamerica.com.
