Farmland in Nebraska is worth 3 percent more than it was a year ago, an average of $2,730 an acre, said an annual report by the University of Nebraska on Wednesday. It was the first increase in agricultural land values in the state since they peaked in 2014. Following the peak, land values plunged 20 percent through 2019.
Land values rose on the combination of strong interest among buyers, a limited stock of land on the market, and government payments that put money in farmers’ pockets, according to the appraisers, farm and ranch managers, and ag bankers who took part in the survey. Federal payments included $961 million for trade war losses and crop insurance indemnities for flooding that prevented planting on 421,000 acres.
“Overall, dryland and irrigated cropland reported steady to slightly higher averages across the state,” said the report. “Pasture and cow-calf pair rental rates trended up across Nebraska in 2020, ranging anywhere from 1 to 12 percent.”