Farmland Values Continue To Soar

Agricultural land value is soaring in the Midwest, with parts of the region surging 25% from last year, according to two recent Federal Reserve surveys. The jump is the highest increase in three decades, according to CNNMoney.

Record farmland prices are also being reported in the northern Plains. Surveys released by the Kansas City and Chicago Federal Reserves find that despite a struggling U.S. housing market, agricultural land in their districts is booming. And the run-up in prices may have yet to peak, they said.

“District farmland values surged to a record high in the third quarter,” the Kansas City survey said. “Cropland values rose more than 25 percent over the past year, and ranchland values increased 14 percent.”

In particular, Nebraska experienced exceptionally strong gains in the Kansas City District due to bumper crops — especially productive seasons for certain crops — reporting a roughly 40% rise in farmland prices from one year ago.