Cropland values jumped 8.1% this year, hitting an average of $5,460 an acre, with many states seeing double-digit increases from 2022, the Agriculture Department reports.
Kansas led the nation with an increase of 16.6% to an average value of $3,440 per acre, according to USDA’s annual survey of agricultural land values, released Friday. Cropland values in Nebraska jumped 13.8% to an average of $6,830 an acre.
New Jersey continues to have the nation’s most valuable cropland, with the average value leaping 13.8% this year to $18,100, followed by California at $15,880, a value that increased by just 3% from 2022.
Iowa cropland values jumped 8% this year to an average of $10,100 per acre. The average value in Illinois rose 7% to $9,580.
The average value of U.S. farm real estate, which includes the value of all land and buildings, rose 7.4% this year to $4,080 an acre, USDA says.
Kansas had the largest increase year over year at 16.3%, bringing the average value of ag real estate in the state to $3,060 an acre.
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However, the most valuable ag real estate continues to be on the East Coast and in California. Rhode Island has the most expensive at $18,300 an acre, an increase of 4.6%, followed by New Jersey at $17,700 (up 14.9%), Massachusetts at $15,300 (up 0.7%), and Connecticut at $14,200 (up 3.6%).
The average value in California rose 3.3% this year to $12,400 an acre.
The average value of pasture rose 6.7% this year to $1,760. New Jersey has the most expensive by far at $16,600, an increase of 15.3% from 2022.
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