Land Prices Holding Firm

A farm real estate specialist expects land prices to remain steady through the rest of the summer. According to Randy Dickhut with Farmers National Company, competition has been high for good cropland with stronger commodity prices. “We will soon be ramping up from August to September pre-harvest, and then post-harvest into that heavier selling season,” he said. “That will really tell us what the buying interest is.”

Dickhut says sales in some areas are up 20 percent since the start of the year, but… “We have interest rates going up and that will put some softening in the land market. If they don’t go too far too fast, it won’t have as much effect on land prices as say the housing market.”

According to Dickhut, anything can change at a moment’s notice with the weather, commodity markets, world events, and government actions.

Editor’s Take:

We have repeatedly reported about the strength in land values. Farmer equity is predominately tied to the land they own and its value over time. For the past couple years, and it appears for some time into the future, land prices will continue to strengthen. The net worth of farmers/ranchers should continue to increase, thus, making their balance sheets very strong, which, in turn, improves their viability as a credit borrower. That means they are in a great position to purchase trucks from CAD members. But, make no mistake about it, farmers/ranchers are also looking for a great value package. As a CAD member, you can deliver extraordinary value with AgPack® by providing up to $30K in exclusive rebates and discounts on products they want and use. AgPack® is your ace in the hole that will make your deal stand out!