Despite the drought, the Pacific states (California, Oregon and Washington) all rose strongly in cropland values, showing a 5.1 percent increase. California heads this regional list with an average value per acre of $10,690.
And in spite of early spring flooding, the Delta states (Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi) also showed healthy values with a 3.6 percent increase.
The commanding lead, however, was neither the Delta nor the Pacific states, but rather the Southern Plains states of Texas (9.5 percent increase) and Oklahoma (8 percent increase) for a collective 9.2 percent increase in cropland land values over 2014.
Mountain states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) held on to moderate value increases of a collective 3 percent. While the Northeast, Lake, Northern Plains, Appalachian and Southeast states maintained anemic gains, held steady or even lost overall value. The Corn Belt states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri (excluding Ohio) all showed slipping values from 0.6 to 6.3 percent loss.
Pasture values tell a different story. Lake states (Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin) averaged a whopping 15.4 percent value increase in pasture. The next most significant increase came in the Northern Plains states (especially North and South Dakota) with an average 6.9 percent increase. Individually, North Dakota’s pasture value rose 13.3 percent, while South Dakota’s rose 14 percent, but Nebraska’s pasture values held back the average with a 3.3 percent loss. FG
