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US cropland values up 37% since 2020

Cropland values continue to rise, according to the USDA’s latest land values report.

University of Missouri ag economist Scott Brown says nationally there was a 4.7 percent jump year-over-year, but there are differences regionally.  The southeast saw the biggest increase, up 7.2 percent.  “Meanwhile, Delta states, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi are up exactly 4%,” he says.  “The Corn Belt is up 4 1/2 percent. That’s the I-States (Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana), Missouri, and Ohio.”

In the long term, he tells Brownfield, “With crop prices generally moving lower, I think it gets harder and harder to suggest that these cropland values can be supported by current corn and soybean prices.”

Brown says one thing is clear, it isn’t getting easier for new and beginning farmers to get started. “One of the major hurdles is the needed cash to make the purchase to get in it,” he says. “It’s hard so barriers to entry. How do you get to getting farmers started? That’s a very tough story to try to dissect.”

Pastureland values were up 5.2 percent in 2024 compared to last year.

Since 2020, Brown says U.S. cropland has increased 37.2 percent in value, and U.S. pastureland has increased 30.7 percent.