Values dropped in Murray, Redwood, increased in Lyon
A survey of farmland signs in 14 southwest Minnesota counties shows that farmland values in the region are slightly down — .2% — in 2019.
“We were going down for quite a few years — 2014, ’15, ’16, ’17, we were up in ’18,” said David Bau, Extension educator with the University of Minnesota. “In 2018 we were up in eight (counties) and down in six; now in 2019, we’re half up and half down. Overall, we’re down slightly. It varies in each county.”
The survey on farmland sales in the 14 counties has been conducted for the last 25 years. It reports bare farmland sales to non-related parties for the first six months of each year. Land values had been steadily increasing until 2014. After reaching record high prices in 2013, the upward trend was broken as prices declined in 2014 and continued down through 2017, according to the University of Minnesota. The trend changed to an increase in 2018 and remains constant in 2019. The summary report for this survey is available at the county extension offices in Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, Watonwan and Yellow Medicine counties. This year the decrease across the 14 counties averaged .2%. Southwest Minnesota land prices peaked at $8,466 per acre, then declined through 2017 to $6,340 until increasing in 2018 to $6,589 and declined slightly to $6,576 in 2019.
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.