In August, the USDA released its annual Land Values Summary for 2024.  [View report here.]  This report looks at the average value for agricultural real estate across the country.

As has been true for several years, the most recent 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 US average value was $4,170/acre, up 5% from 2023.  For cropland, the nationwide average value increased 4.7% to $5,570/acre.  For pastureland, the nationwide average value was $1,830/acre, up 5.2% from last year.

The report also looks at various regional measurements.

• Farm real estate average value is the highest in the Pacific region (CA, OR, WA) at $8,040/acre.  The highest state value is found in Rhode Island at $22,000/acre.  The lowest regional average was $1,600 for the Mountain region (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY).  The lowest state value is New Mexico at $700.  By way of comparison, Texas and Oklahoma make up the Southern Plains region, which has an average of $2,720.
• For cropland values, California reports the highest at $17,330/acre, while regionally the Pacific region shows the highest values at an average of $9,520/acre.  The Southern Plains region (OK, TX) reported the lowest cropland average value at $2,500/acre, a 4.6% increase from the prior year.  The state with the lowest cropland value is Montana at $1,280/acre.
• Pasture average value per acre was highest in New Jersey at $15,000 and lowest in New Mexico at $600/acre.  Regionally, values were the highest in the Southeast (AL, FL, GA, SC) at $5,510 and the lowest in the Mountain region at $909.  For the Southern Plains region, pastureland value came in at an average of $2,160.

Looking specifically at Texas:

• Farm real estate average value: $2,800/acre, a 7.3% increase from 2023.
• Cropland average value: $2,570/acre.  This is up 3.2% from a year ago.  This includes an irrigated average of $3,150 and non-irrigated average of $2,500.
• Pastureland average value:  $2,200/acre, up 6.3%.

To view the entire report and see complete information for each state and region, click here.

For additional information regarding land values in Texas, be sure you check out the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers report titled Texas Rural Land Value Trends here.