Earlier this fall, the USDA released its annual Land Values Summary for 2023.  

Not surprisingly, the report indicates increasing values nationwide over the past year.   For “farm real estate value,” which takes into account the value of all land and buildings on farms, the U.S. average value was $4,080, up 7.4% from 2022.  For cropland, the nationwide average value increased 8.1% to $5,460/acre.  For pastureland, the nationwide average value was $1,760/acre, up 6.7% from last year.

The report also looks at various regional measurements.

• Farm real estate average value is the highest in the Corn Belt region (IL, IN, IA, MO, OH) at $8,100/acre.  The highest state value is found in Rhode Island at $18,300/acre.  The lowest regional average was $1,450 for the Mountain region (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY).  The lowest state value is New Mexico at $610.  By way of comparison, Texas and Oklahoma make up the Southern Plains region, which has an average of $2,800.
• For cropland values, New Jersey reports the highest at $18,100/acre, while regionally the Pacific region shows the highest values at an average of $8,800/acre.  Mountain region reported the lowest cropland average value at $2,410/acre with the Southern Plains region slightly higher at $2,480.
• Pasture average value per acre was highest in New Jersey at $16,600 and regionally highest in the Southeast (AL, FL, GA, SC) at $5,050 and lowest in the Mountain region at $808.  For the Southern Plains region, pastureland value came in at an average of $2,150.

      Looking specifically at Texas:

• Farm real estate average value: $2,900/acre, a 9.4% increase from 2022.
• Cropland average value: $2,590/acre.  This is up 7% from a year ago.  This includes an irrigated average of $3,050 and non-irrigated average of $2,520.
• Pastureland average value:  $2,200/acre, up 7.3%.

To view the entire report and see complete information for each state and region, visit https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/pn89d6567/9w033j15z/2v23xb225/land0823.pdf.