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Nebraska farmland values dropped four percent in 2017

Final results from the 2018 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Survey show a fourth consecutive year of declining ag land values.

The statewide average value dropped four percent to 2,270 dollars per acre. That’s an 18 percent reduction since land values peaked in 2014.  The declines ranged from seven percent in northcentral Nebraska to one percent in the southeast. Average values ranged from 6,240 per acre in east central Nebraska to 715 dollars in the northwest.

Pivot irrigated cropland declined three percent. Dryland cropland with irrigation potential was also down three percent. Grazing land values declined about six percent.

Cash rental rates were lower for most classes of farmland, with pivot irrigated cropland rents generally two to five percent lower across the state.

Survey participants identified crop prices and property tax levels as the biggest factors behind the drop in land values. The survey covered the 12-month period ending February 1st, 2018.