The Farmers National Company recently released a semi-annual market update on farmland prices and it’s hard to nail down just what the trend is. A Pro Farmer report says the best description may be “steady, with exceptions.” The report says the reason trends are hard to figure out is some farmland sells at better prices than expected while other farmland shows a price decline from previous selling prices. Ag land values in most areas should be expected to continue gradually declining over the next several years if commodity prices and farm incomes remain bottomed-out. Interest rate increases, small tax law changes, and world economic challenges will likely keep the pressure on farmland prices over the next year. The report says there are potential positives ahead for farm and ranch incomes in the future. If the stress on land prices slows and there are no other shocks to the market, land values should move to stabilize over the next few years.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.