The average value of agricultural land in Nebraska increased for the fourth consecutive year, to $3,385 per acre, according to the final 2022-2023 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights report, published by the Center for Agricultural Profitability at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This represents an increase of about 14% ($475 per acre) from the previous year's value of $3,360 per acre.
The northeast, east, and southeast districts led the state, with rates of increase from about 15% to 17%. Western regions of Nebraska reported smaller increases, ranging from approximately 10% to 13%.
The report highlights various economic forces affecting land values across the state. Major contributors to the higher value of land include current crop prices, farm expansion and non-farmer investor interest in land purchases. However, some economic forces were reported to negatively impact farm real estate values, such as current interest rate levels, property tax levels, farm input expenses and future property tax policies.
“Rising interest rates were implemented to combat inflation but concerns about rising expenses saw many operations acquiring tangible assets to hedge their purchasing power,” said Jim Jansen, an agricultural economist and co-author of the report.
“Operators and investors use land purchases to hedge against inflation and grow farms or ranches,” Jansen said. “Higher interest rates may impact agricultural real estate markets without additional profitability to offset the rising financing expense.”
In terms of overall value, Nebraska's total value of agricultural land and buildings rose to approximately $191.8 billion, a significant increase of about $23.8 billion from 2022 to 2023.
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