Agricultural Land Values National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released March 17,1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Agricultural Land Values" call Longino Bustillos at (202) 690-3231, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Farm Real Estate Values Rise 6 Percent The January 1, 1998 U.S. farm real estate value, including land and buildings, reached a new record high of $1,000 per acre. For the second straight year farm real estate value rose 6 percent, continuing the climb that began in 1987. Since 1987 the average U.S. farm real estate value has grown from $599 to $1,000 per acre, an increase of 67 percent. Regional increases in the values of farm real estate during 1997 ranged from 3 to 9 percent. The Northeast Region with its urban influences had the highest average value of land and buildings at $2,676 per acre, up 3 percent over the previous year. The Corn Belt, at $1,869 per acre, showed the largest percentage gain at 9 percent from 1997 and surpassed the prior all time high of $1,776 for the region set back in 1981. The Lake region also exceeded its previous high of $1,243 set back in 1981 with a new high of $1,288 per acre. The Southeast and Northeast regions showed the lowest increase at 3 percent each, while the remaining regions rose 4 to 8 percent. All States showed increases from the previous year except for Vermont and New York which remained steady. Since 1990, the Corn Belt and Mountain regions have shown the largest real estate value gains at 68 and 59 percent, respectively. The Southern Plains, at 27 percent, had the least amount of gain during the decade. However, the 1998 Southern Plains $640 per acre is at the second highest level behind the $675 per acre set in 1985. Farm Real Estate: Average value per acre, by Region and State, January 1, 1980-98 1/2/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Change State 1980 1985 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998:1997-98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------Dollars------------------- Percent Northeast: 1,269 1,346 1,848 2,414 2,484 2,599 2,676 3 Connecticut 2,387 3,005 5,033 6,567 6,810 7,500 7,800 4 Delaware 1,798 1,596 2,214 2,689 2,907 3,170 3,350 6 Maine 594 774 1,073 1,245 1,291 1,300 1,320 2 Maryland 2,238 2,197 2,563 3,707 3,826 4,000 4,120 3 Massachusetts 1,608 2,377 4,227 5,398 5,597 6,200 6,450 4 New Hampshire 1,004 1,439 2,269 2,486 2,578 2,600 2,700 4 New Jersey 2,947 2,951 5,494 8,052 8,172 8,290 8,370 1 New York 720 820 1,014 1,380 1,333 1,390 1,390 0 Pennsylvania 1,464 1,427 1,929 2,339 2,505 2,630 2,760 5 Rhode Island 2,523 2,990 5,564 6,947 7,204 7,900 8,200 4 Vermont 721 947 1,262 1,479 1,534 1,550 1,550 0 Lake States: 1,065 952 843 1,048 1,126 1,205 1,288 7 Michigan 1,111 1,108 1,005 1,329 1,470 1,600 1,720 8 Minnesota 1,086 898 810 936 976 1,040 1,100 6 Wisconsin 1,004 944 801 1,065 1,175 1,250 1,350 8 Corn Belt: 1,643 1,108 1,111 1,448 1,578 *1,720 1,869 9 Illinois 2,041 1,381 1,405 1,863 2,064 2,210 2,380 8 Indiana 1,863 1,344 1,254 1,654 1,801 1,970 2,170 10 Iowa 1,840 1,091 1,090 1,349 1,442 *1,650 1,800 9 Missouri 902 689 701 880 948 1,010 1,090 8 Ohio 1,730 1,215 1,273 1,800 1,989 2,110 2,300 9 Northern Plains: 485 412 401 458 476 504 530 5 Kansas 587 488 450 535 553 575 590 3 Nebraska 635 485 524 596 632 680 735 8 North Dakota 405 373 321 373 383 410 415 1 South Dakota 292 289 291 302 310 325 350 8 Appalachian: 1,014 1,035 1,178 1,436 1,597 1,685 1,769 5 Kentucky 976 955 978 1,250 1,377 1,450 1,550 7 North Carolina 1,219 1,242 1,355 1,749 1,970 2,050 2,130 4 Tennessee 976 944 1,067 1,336 1,526 1,650 1,740 6 Virginia 1,028 1,112 1,665 1,771 1,925 2,030 2,100 3 West Virginia 669 607 664 910 965 1,000 1,050 5 Southeast: 1,005 1,068 1,300 1,533 1,631 1,683 1,740 3 Alabama 780 797 890 1,262 1,387 1,480 1,570 6 Florida 1,381 1,599 2,070 2,219 2,306 2,300 2,320 1 Georgia 896 886 1,079 1,256 1,358 1,430 1,500 5 South Carolina 900 898 1,011 1,337 1,363 1,400 1,440 3 Delta States: 966 1,012 806 972 1,009 1,041 1,087 4 Arkansas 918 907 796 983 989 1,010 1,050 4 Louisiana 1,256 1,407 915 1,082 1,176 1,230 1,280 4 Mississippi 819 855 736 886 917 950 1,000 5 Southern Plains: 472 675 504 550 565 594 640 8 Oklahoma 614 597 491 547 547 570 600 5 Texas 436 694 507 550 570 600 650 8 Mountain: 284 300 265 346 379 403 422 5 Arizona 267 295 267 347 399 420 440 5 Colorado 387 437 374 520 558 590 620 5 Idaho 698 739 658 836 905 960 1,020 6 Montana 235 243 222 277 289 305 320 5 Nevada 248 244 207 289 332 350 365 4 New Mexico 185 185 185 225 258 280 290 4 Utah 530 513 398 606 697 750 780 4 Wyoming 161 181 153 192 206 220 230 5 Pacific: 1,037 1,293 1,259 1,549 1,676 1,774 1,847 4 California 1,424 1,841 1,884 2,215 2,404 2,510 2,620 4 Oregon 587 615 573 844 928 1,000 1,030 3 Washington 736 943 821 1,065 1,117 1,230 1,280 4 48 States 737 713 683 832 890 *945 1,000 6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Value of farmland and buildings. 2/ Estimates for 1996 and prior years previously published by the Economic Research Service, USDA. Reliability of Data in this Report Survey Procedures: The land value estimates in this report are based primarily on the Fall Agriculture Survey conducted in December. This survey is based on a probability area frame with a sample of approximately 7,122 segments or parcels of land which average approximately 1 square mile. Enumerators conducting the area survey contact all farmers having operations within the sampled segments and collect land values for their operation. From these data, estimates are calculated. Estimating Procedures: National, Regional, and State farm real estate value data were reviewed for reasonability and consistency. Each State Statistical Office submits their farm real estate value analyses to the Agricultural Statistics Board (ASB) which prepares the January 1 based estimates for publication. NASS uses the Census of Agriculture which is conducted every 5 years to benchmark farm real estate values. For years between census surveys, annual percent changes in value from the June and Fall Agriculture Surveys are calculated and those percentage changes are applied to the Census benchmark. Revision Policy: Land Values are subject to revision the following year and following the five-year Census of Agriculture. The basis for revision must be supported by additional data that directly affect the level of the estimate. Reliability: The survey used to make land value estimates are subject to sampling and non-sampling type errors that are common to all surveys. Both types affect the "precision" of the estimates. Sampling error occurs because a complete census is not taken. The sampling error measures the variation in estimates from the average of all possible samples. Sampling errors cannot be applied directly to the values published in this report to determine confidence intervals since the official estimates represent a composite of information from more than a single source. An estimate of 100 with a sampling error of 1 would mean that chances are 19 out of 20 that the estimates from all possible samples averaged together would be between 98 and 102; which is the survey estimate, plus or minus two times the sampling error. The sampling error from the 1998 area frame survey for U.S. land values was 3 percent while regional sampling errors were slightly higher. Nonsampling errors can occur in complete censuses as well as sample surveys. They are caused by the inability to obtain correct information from each person sampled, differences in interpreting questions or definitions, and mistakes in coding or processing data. To minimize non-sampling errors, vigorous quality controls are used in the data collection process and all data are carefully reviewed for consistency and reasonability. The next "Agricultural Land Values" report will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET on April 6, 1999. 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