farmland prices
Foreign buyers pay a premium for U.S. farmland, says analyst
An analysis of farmland sales in the Midwest and Plains states found foreign investors paid 13.7 percent more than American purchasers for comparable tracts, but the infrequent transactions did not affect land values overall, said Mykel Taylor, an associate professor of agricultural economics at Auburn University, on Tuesday. Foreign ownership is "pretty hot politically" as an issue, she said, and could result in the USDA becoming part of the powerful federal committee that decides if a foreign purchase poses a national security risk.
Defense bill may be route for limiting foreign farmland ownership
Although two senators identified the farm bill as a potential way to restrict foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow said on Wednesday that the annual defense authorization act seemed a better bet. Senators added language to the defense bill in July to prohibit China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from purchasing U.S. farmland and agricultural companies.
Impetus slows for higher cropland values, say ag bankers
The farm real estate market was resilient in the face of higher interest rates and "some moderation" in the farm economy this spring, according to commercial lenders surveyed by five regional Federal Reserve banks.
After run-up, farmland prices may become more stable
Higher interest rates and weaker commodity prices may slow the momentum for ever-higher farmland values, said the Chicago and Kansas City Federal Reserve banks in quarterly reports on Thursday. "After this unusual period of large farmland gains, it wouldn't be too surprising if we were back to that general stable [land value] scenario for a while," said David Oppedahl, policy adviser at the Chicago Fed.
Farmland values will stay strong in 2023, says ag real estate firm
High commodity prices will combine with strong demand to hold farmland values at near-record levels in 2023, said Farmers National Co., a farm real estate and management company, on Wednesday.
Farmland values gallop higher despite interest rate increases
Strong commodity prices are creating opportunities for U.S. farmers to profit despite the risks posed by drought and higher production costs, said the Ag Finance Update by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Farmland prices surged an average of 20 percent in the Farm Belt during the summer as buyers shrugged off sharply higher interest rates.
As farmland values soar, so do fears of a price bubble
Flush with cash, farmers and investors have driven up farmland values this year at breathtaking rates — a 12 percent gain nationwide and more than 20 percent in three Farm Belt states. “Given recent experiences with fluctuations in the broader economy and prior farmland price dynamics, many market participants express concern that the rapid increase in farmland prices is a signal of a speculative bubble,” said three economists.
Farmland values soar more than 20 percent in Midwest and Plains
Strong agricultural income and favorable interest rates are fueling a nonstop climb in farmland values in the Plains and Midwest, said farm bankers in quarterly surveys by the Kansas City and Chicago Federal Reserve banks. The Chicago Fed said farmland values in the opening months of this year were 23 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2021; the increase was 24 percent for non-irrigated land in the Plains.
Rapid increase in farmland values in central Plains
Fueled by strong farm income and low interest rates, farmland values soared more than 20 percent in the central Plains during 2021, according to a quarterly survey of ag bankers by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. A majority of the lenders said they expected values to increase this year, but an equally large number "also indicated that farmland values were currently over-valued, suggesting there may still be future risks of declines," said the regional Fed.
Farmer confidence sours amid rising costs, income squeeze
Despite high farm income in 2021, farmer confidence has been on a nearly unbroken decline since last April, said Purdue University on Tuesday. "Producers expect financial performance in 2022 to be much weaker than in 2021," said the monthly Ag Economy Barometer, pointing to rising costs and difficulties in acquiring pesticides, fertilizer and machinery parts.