farmland value
Farm income falls but not land values … yet
Low interest rates and the comparatively small amount of available farmland are combining with the healthy balance sheets of many farmers to limit the decline in land values, says an economist from the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank.
Iowa farmland value down 13 percent in two years
Farmland values fell 3.9 percent in Iowa this year, to an average $7,633 an acre, according to an annual survey by Iowa State University. It was the second year in a row of decline in the No. 1 corn state.
Dour farm and ranch outlook in Midwest and Plains
Farm income and agricultural land values are headed downward in the final three months of the year, bankers said in surveys by the Kansas City, Chicago and St Louis Federal Reserve Banks, which cover most of the Midwest and the Plains. The Dallas Federal Reserve said lenders in its district in the southern Plains also expect land values to slip in the final quarter of the year.
Farmland values declining but a collapse is unlikely
Farmland values and rental rates declined modestly in the first half of the year, "and it appears that downward pressures are likely to continue into 2016," say economists Gary Schnitkey, Bruce Sherrick and Todd Kuethe of U-Illinois. "While headwinds related to farm income will likely continue, current farmland prices do not appear out of line with current cash rent and interest rate levels."
First yearly decline in Midwest farmland value since 1986
"Good" farmland declined in value by 3 percent in the central Corn Belt during 2014, "marking the first yearly decline since 1986," said the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, based on a survey of bankers. The largest decline was 7 percent in Iowa. "Half of the respondents expected farmland values to fall during the January through March period of 2015," said the Chicago Fed in its quarterly Ag Letter. Only 1 percent of lenders "remained hopeful that farmland values would rise in the areas surrounding their respective banks."
U.S. farm income to plummet by one-third in 2015
U.S. farm income will drop to its lowest level in six years under the weight of sharply lower crop prices and a plunge in milk prices, according to a forecast from the Agriculture Department. Net farm income, which reflects earnings from production in the current calendar year, would fall by 32 percent from 2014 levels. The USDA said another measure of the farm sector, net cash farm income, would slump by 22 percent, a smaller decline because it includes revenue from stocks carried over from last year.
Farming important but small share of Midwest economy
Even with the boom years of 2003-14, agriculture's share of the Midwestern economy is shrinking, to 1 percent or so, said a paper from the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank.
Grassland prices on the rise, cropland to plateau
With cattle prices at record highs, grassland prices are a good bet to rise in the coming year, the head of a farm management company tells DTN.
Farmland values dip in Midwest and Plains
Land prices declined in 12 Midwestern and Plains states but held steady or improved slightly in the South according to Farmers National Co, a farm management and real estate company, says AgWeb.
Biggest drop in Iowa farmland value since 1986, down 9%
Iowa farmland values fell by 9 percent this year, the largest decline since 1986 during the agricultural recession, pulled down by falling commodity prices, said an Iowa State University survey.
Slight decline in farmland prices likely after 10-year rise
A Purdue agricultural economist says land prices are likely to fall under the weight of low crop prices and rising interest rates. "We are looking at about a 5-10 percent correction over each of the next three years," says Michael Langemeier in a Purdue news release.
Farm income “has fallen short of previous years”
Crop farmers are seeing much lower incomes this year, down by an average 25 percent in the Plains, according to agricultural bankers in the Farm Belt.
Low commodity prices put pressure on farmland prices
If the low commodity prices persist into the future - a widespread concern - "it is becoming clear...there will be pressure on farmland values to end their upward march and likely fall," says Brent Gloy at the blog Agricultural Economic Insights.
On the horizon, a period of stable farmland prices?
Farmland values soared during the agricultural boom that began in 2006, fueled by high commodity prices and low interest rates that made it easier to buy land.
Ranchland value rising, cropland is steady or declining
Cropland values are steady or starting to erode while ranch and pasture land is rising in value, say agricultural bankers in the Midwest and central Plains.
Interest rates, the next threat to farmland prices
With sharply lower commodity prices at hand, "one of the key supports for sky high farmland values is changing rapidly," writes economist Brent Gloy at the Agricultural Economic Insights blog.
Farmland values step off price escalator after long ride up
U.S. farmland values will hold steady or decline somewhat in the near term due to lower grain prices and high production costs, lenders and financial experts told a House Agriculture subcommittee.
Rally in commodities puts a floor under farmland prices
Farmland prices fell for the seventh month in a row in the Rural Mainstreet Index compiled by Creighton University, but at a slower rate.
What Ohio’s data-center boom means for the state’s rural communities
In FERN's latest story, produced with Switchyard Magazine, reporter Mya Frazier explores the damage—physical, economic, and emotional—done to Ohio's rural communities by the explosion of data centers and the electricity generation needed to power those centers.