The market value of agricultural land in Nebraska increased by 14% over the prior year, to an average of $3,835 per acre, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 2023 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey preliminary report. This marks the second-largest increase in the market value of agricultural land in Nebraska since 2014 and the highest non-inflation-adjusted statewide land value in the 45-year history of the survey. 

The report is issued annually by the university’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Center for Agricultural Profitability, based on a survey of land industry experts across Nebraska, including appraisers, farm and ranch managers, agricultural bankers and other industry professionals.

The survey attributes the rise in agricultural real estate values to higher commodity prices, purchases for operation expansion, favorable financial situations for current owners and an increase in buyers acquiring land as a hedge against inflation.

Increases in crop and livestock prices contributed to a net farm income of over $8 billion in Nebraska in 2022, even as expenses for inputs like fertilizer and fuel increased by over $3 billion over the prior year in the state. But record-low interest rates at the beginning of 2022 rose to their highest points this decade by the end of the year. This may impact agricultural real estate markets in the coming year according to Jim Jansen, an agricultural economist who co-authors the survey and report.

To learn more about the results of the 2023 Farm Real Estate Market Survey, read this article on the Center for Agricultural Profitability. 

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