U.S. farmland prices continued to increase in 2025 but at a slower rate than in previous years, according to the USDA’s annual Land Values Summary report on Friday. U.S. agricultural real estate values averaged $4,350 per acre, up 4.3 percent this year. Every state in the contiguous United States reported a year-over-year increase, with the largest percent increases seen in Michigan, Tennessee, South Dakota, and Ohio.
Cropland specifically saw a 4.7 percent gain from a year ago, with national values averaging $5,830 per acre.
In the Corn Belt, values averaged $8,940, up 4.4 percent year-over-year, with Iowa breaking above $10,000 per acre for the first time. Cropland values in the Northern Plains saw a 4.5 percent increase, ranging from $2,710 an acre in North Dakota up to $6,800 per acre in Nebraska. Meanwhile, the Southern Plains jumped by 5.6 percent, led by price increases in Oklahoma.
The USDA separates irrigated and non-irrigated crop acres. For the most part, non-irrigated acres led price increases, especially in Utah, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.
All states experienced higher pastureland price increases on average, albeit at a slower growth rate than in 2024. Pastureland values averaged $1,920 an acre nationally, up 4.9 percent year-over-year.
Higher values in the Northern Plains led the growth, followed by the Southern Plains and the Corn Belt.
“Though land values are still rising, the slowing pace signals a market cooling from the rapid appreciation seen earlier this decade,” American Farm Bureau Economist Daniel Munch wrote in a recent Market Intel report. “This shift carries implications for farm finances: slower equity growth limits producers’ ability to leverage land as collateral for loans, while lenders may grow more cautious if they anticipate stagnation or decline in land markets.”
Cash rent increases slowing
The rate of growth in cash rents slowed significantly for 2025. The average rent for U.S. cropland was $161 per acre, up 0.6 percent year-over-year. That was the smallest increase since rents experienced negative growth in 2020.
Corn Belt states were steady to lower. Southern Plains saw increases in cash rents, while gains were steadier in the Northern Plains. High commodity prices were followed by strong growth in cash rents and land values throughout 2021, 2022, and 2023. However, increases have slowed over the past two years, according to USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer.
“I think we have a cooling, but the cooling is interestingly much more on the cash rent side in terms of year-over-year growth than how producers view the value of their land,” he said.
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