Farmland values held steady in the first six months of 2025, an indicator of two economic dynamics shaping the U.S. grain industry -– solid farm financials tempered by market uncertainty.
Frontier Farm Credit tracks values on the same seven benchmark farms in eastern Kansas every January and July. Values have improved, but modestly.
State | 6-Month Change | 1-Year Change | 2-Year Change | 5-Year Change | 10-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kansas (7) * | 4.10% | 4.80% | 14.90% | 58.40% | 53.90% |
*The parentheses indicate the number of benchmark operations in each state.
The average per-acre value of the seven benchmark farms is $5,551, up from $5,291 for the same period last year and $3,568 in 2020.
The benchmarks include cropland, pasture or a combination of crop and pasture. Eastern Kansas saw values for cropland increase 5.60% and 7.30% in the past six and 12 months, respectively.
Benchmark Cropland Value Changes
Pasture values have improved 2.20% since January and 1.50% during the past year.
Benchmark Pasture/Ranch Value Changes
Continued Local Real Estate Market Volatility
The pockets of volatility in local real estate markets that developed in 2024 continue into 2025, with some sale prices higher than expected and some lower. Tim Koch, executive vice president of business development, said this volatility is to be expected.
Actual sale prices rose nearly 26% from the first to second quarter of 2025. The average price of sold ground in the second quarter was $9,187 per acre.
While sales activity influences land values, other factors also come into play, helping to cut through noise in the market, Koch said: “The fact that land values are largely flat and not down tells us that overall, the financial landscape for agriculture is pretty good right now, and this continues to be supportive of real estate values.”
Heading into 2025, some prognosticators expected corn prices, already off the record highs of a few years ago, to fall to the low $4-, high $3-range, creating financial stress and an increase in fire sales of land.
Instead, corn prices have remained in the mid-$4 range. Producers also received a fresh round of federal farm subsidies earlier this year to offset weather and economic challenges.
There are pockets of stress, Koch noted, but they remain a small part of the overall economic picture. As a result, there hasn’t been uptick in land sales due to duress. In fact, the same tight land market that supported land values for the past several years remains in place.
Total cropland sales were down 55.6% in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, although this percentage will change some as more sales are reported. Public land auctions are down 12% so far this year.
Challenges and Uncertainty Ahead
Challenges do lie ahead for agriculture, the most immediate being the 2025 corn harvest. Based on current crop conditions and the 95 million acres of U.S. corn hit trendline, farmers could deliver a bumper crop -- potentially into a market with fewer buyers.
So far, the U.S. has found willing buyers for its agricultural products. A weakened dollar and strong demand have helped ease the impact of tariffs and trade disputes. But with the Trump administration threatening more tariffs and trade talks in flux, farmers enter the 2025 harvest in a state of uncertainty.
“Unlike short-term commodity price swings or isolated financial stress, land values reflect long-term confidence,” he said. “When producers are still willing to invest in farmland, it tells us they believe in the future of the industry. That kind of stability is a grounded, tangible signal of where agriculture really stands.”
But there isn’t a scenario in which land values consistently improve, he noted, and looking ahead to the remainder of 2025, values likely will experience downward pressure.
Strong Working Capital and Selective Land Investment
Working capital, while well off the record highs of recent years, remains relatively strong. This is largely due to commodity prices staying higher for longer, but also because of additional support from government subsidies, Koch said.
If commodity prices come under pressure, and that is a possibility, he said, the real estate market will see fewer buyers. Beginning in 2024, buyers already were growing more selective, waiting for the right land in the right location to come on the market.
Koch said he wouldn’t expect a material shift in land values between now and the end of 2025. But, he added, the market could see a modest shift of a couple points across the board, with anomalies showing up in certain locales based on the quality of land sales.
Benchmark Land Values in Neighboring States
Frontier Farm Credit operates in collaboration with Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica) and AgCountry Farm Credit Services. Together, the three Associations appraise 93 benchmark farms every six months. Since January, farmland values across the eight states have increased an average of 1.10%.
6-Month Average Benchmark Land Values Change
The table below shows changes in values over the past decade in states served by AgCountry and Frontier Farm Credit. Only the area of Minnesota served by AgCountry has seen values decline in the past year.
State | 6-Month | 1-Year | 2-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Iowa (21) * | -0.10% | -3.00% | -5.40% | 51.70% | 44.80% |
Minnesota (10) | -4.00% | -2.50% | 0.50% | 73.40% | 52.10% |
Nebraska (18) | -0.90% | -1.50% | 3.00% | 51.80% | 29.40% |
North Dakota (11) | 0.00% | 0.70% | 8.20% | 72.60% | 70.07% |
South Dakota (22) | 5.30% | 11.50% | 19.00% | 76.90% | 47.00% |
Wisconsin (2) | 3.10% | 3.10% | 18.40% | 34.90% | 42.30% |
Wyoming (2) | 5.20% | 5.20% | 10.40% | 61.50% | 107.20% |
