North Dakota cropland values up more than 10% for third straight year

North Dakota’s cropland values have increased more than 10% for the third consecutive year, according to an annual survey.

North Dakota cropland values increased 11.59% heading into the spring of 2024, from 2,863 per acre to 3,174 per acre, said Bryon Parman, North Dakota State University Extension agricultural finance specialist.

The increase follows cropland values appreciating 10.92% and 13.46% in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Cash rental rates for cropland saw increases between 3.12% and 6.82% during those years.

The statewide average cash rental rate moved upward from $75.90 per acre to $78.70 per acre.

“A jump in land values across North Dakota that large is a bit surprising given the decline in net farm incomes from 2022 to 2023, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s projected decline from 2023 to 2024,” Parman said in a news release. “It is also a bit surprising that such a large increase in land prices have not pulled cash rental rates higher, especially given that interest rates have been significantly higher over the last few years.”

The data is based on the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands Annual Land Survey. The original survey data can be found at: https://www.land.nd.gov/resources/north-dakota-county-rents-prices-annual-survey .

The largest increases in land prices occurred in the north-central and south-central regions with both increasing more than 20%. The largest increases in rental rates for cropland values occurred in the southwest and south-central regions where both region’s rental rates increased more than 8%.

Cropland values in the north Red River Valley and northwestern regions were also both up more than 10% in 2024, with the remainder of the state’s regions increasing in the mid-to-high single digits.

The last time cropland in North Dakota saw a rapid rise in land values from 2008 to 2013, there was about a seven-year period to follow where land prices and rental rates completely flattened from 2014 to 2020.

This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com