Ag Land Values Decrease Statewide On Average

By Shannon Sand

2016 Agricultural Land Values

From 1991 to 2015, agricultural land values in South Dakota, and in most other major agricultural production states, appreciated each year. In 2016 on average all agricultural use land decreased in South Dakota except rangeland, which will be discussed in a future article. This is the first annual decline in the average value of agricultural ground compared to yearly increases of 1.4 to 33.6 percent during 2011-2015 (Table 1). This indicates a change from the previous cycle of increases in agricultural land values.

Table 1. Average reported value and annual percentage change in value of South Dakota agricultural land by region, February 2011-2016.

Figure 1. Percent change in value by South Dakota agricultural land by region 2016-2015.
 
Looking Forward

There have been sharp declines in crop prices and returns in the past year. The drop in commodity prices from 2014 to 2016 may be a reason all South Dakota agricultural land values on average decreased 2.4% compared to a year ago (Table 1).