Farmland Value Increase Matches 30-Year High
The last time values saw this percentage-level boost was in 1979.
Compiled by staff
Published: May 20, 2011
The Seventh Federal Reserve District has released farmland values for the first quarter of 2011 and the year-over-year increase was 16%. That is the biggest since 2007 and was last surpassed in 1979.
Tabulated from 220 surveys of District bankers, "good" agricultural land increased in value by 5% and relative to the six months ending in March 2010 there was more demand for farmland during the six month period ending in March 2011, with farmers purchasing more of the acres sold. Over half of the bankers said they expect to see farmland values continue to increase during the second quarter of 2011.
Credit conditions strengthened overall for farmers and more funds were available for lending, although there was less demand for non-real estate farm loans than in 2010. Renewals and extensions of agricultural loans decreased and repayment rates increased, with interest rates increasing slightly since the start of 2011.
According to some of the bankers responding to the survey farmers were outbidding investors for land at auctions. Forty-eight percent of the bankers saw increasing land purchases by farmers with only 6% seeing a smaller share. Bankers also saw an increase in the number and acreage of farmland up for sale compared to last year.
Cash rental rates for agricultural land in 2011 rose sharply relative to 2010—the only year over the past five that had an increase of less than 7%. District cash rents climbed 16% from 2010. Cash rental rates were up 14% in Illinois, 15% in Indiana, 16% in Iowa, 18% in Michigan, and 20% in Wisconsin.
Higher agricultural prices, particularly for crops were attributed as a main factor for both cash rental rates and farmland values rising. Survey respondents say the rapid increase in agricultural land values may not be over with over half expecting continued increases in the second quarter of 2011.
Respondents anticipated that the volume of non-real estate farm loans would decrease during the period from April through June of 2011 compared with the same period of 2010. The bankers forecasted smaller volumes for operating, feeder cattle, dairy, and FSA guaranteed loans. Farm machinery, grain storage construction, and real estate loan volumes were expected to increase in the second quarter of 2011 compared with the second quarter of 2010.
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Tagged: farm, FSA, land values, farm machinery
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