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2024 Kansas Agricultural Land Values and Trends report now available2024 Kansas Agricultural Land Values and Trends report now available

Kansas land sales in 2025 could be a case of high demand but low supply.

Jennifer M. Latzke, Editor

January 15, 2025

4 Min Read

There were no reported Kansas land auctions from sources for the end of December and first part of January. Auctions were expected to pick back up through January into February after the break celebrating Christmas and the start of the new year.

Kansas State University released the 2024 Kansas Agricultural Land Values and Trends report Jan. 2.

In its summary, Allen Featherstone, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, lays out a review of 2024 and brings some insight into 2025. He reported that although crop yields increased, there weren’t that many opportunities to price the crops at higher levels like in 2023.

Additionally, crop insurance revenue guarantees decreased from 2023 levels and are expected to drop again in 2025. “The farm safety net continues to decrease, and at this point, the price support included in the 2018 Farm Bill continues to be below the cost of production substantially,” he writes. This may mean farmers will see a difficult 2025, with reference prices for wheat declining and expected declines for corn and soybeans.

Additionally, net farm income in 2023 fell again to $98,299 per farm, as measured by the Kansas Farm Management Association, with almost 83% of it in 2023 due to net crop insurance payments. And in 2024, it’s expected that net farm income will decrease from the 2023 levels as well.

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“What does this mean for land values?” Featherstone writes. “Weakening commodity prices, higher interest rates and lower net farm income will translate into steady or perhaps decreasing land values in 2025. With a softening of the farm economy from 2024 to 2025, land values will not increase at the levels in 2022, 2023 and 2024.”

In 2022, land values were reported to increase by 22%, with an increase by 13% in 2023 and another 8% increase in 2024. Featherstone writes that those are large increases compared with historical reports. Overall, since 1950, land values have increased by an average of 5.3% annually, with inflation-adjusted ag land values increasing by 2.1% since 1950. “Two years in three since 1950, Kansas land values increased higher than the inflation rate,” Featherstone writes.

The report shows local land market trends, which vary depending on the ability of farmers to bid on land but also the change in use of traditionally agricultural land. Alternative uses — including hunting, oil and gas exploration — and wind turbine development are just some examples Featherstone gives that can influence land markets.

For the timeframe of October 2023 through September 2024, a total of 1.007 million acres of Kansas land changed hands, with more than half of that designated as pasture or grassland. Dryland crop acres made up about 447,000 acres, and irrigated land made up a little more than 53,000 acres of sales.

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Southwest Kansas saw the greatest amount of land sold at 184,000 acres. The south-central region came in second at 173,000 acres sold. Meanwhile, northeast Kansas, while having the highest prices per acre, was by far the smallest in sales volume, according to the report, at just over 49,000 acres.

Read more about land sales trends at agmanager.info/kansas-land-values-book-2024.

Paul Schadegg, senior vice president of real estate operations for Farmers National Co., reported Jan. 6 that there are more motivated land buyers today than willing sellers. Even in the face of lower net farm income, declining commodity markets, higher interest rates and increased input costs, land values across the Midwest remained stable, according to Farmers National.

Schadegg and Farmers National say farm operators continue to be the primary buyers of ag land, with the mindset or motivation that they are reinvesting in their farm enterprise, expanding their operations and therefore using their farm equipment to the fullest potential.

Related:Set the table for a smooth transition

“Location of land offered for sale also plays a large role in their decision-making, as often this land has not changed hands for generations and, once sold, may not be sold again,” Schadegg says. Going into 2025, changes in the ag economy will determine if more farmers are buying land or not.

Land investors are the second-largest segment of ag land buyers, according to Farmers National, and Schadegg says this group’s mindset is business oriented.

“There is virtually no emotional motivation, as buying decisions are based on return on investment or anticipated appreciation of land value,” he says. “The motivation lies in expanding the portfolio, opportunities in productive regions, and improving ROIs in declining land markets. Many land investors have not experienced the rise and fall of agriculture cycles but fully appreciate the long-term value of land. As pressures on the ag economy increase, investors stand ready to bid on land that fits their investment criteria.”

Schadegg says that sets up a scenario where many landowners are looking at the long-term appreciation of land value and an annual return on that investment, thereby retaining land ownership and reducing the amount of land for sale in 2025. Meanwhile, motivated buyers are ready to deploy available cash to expand operations or build their portfolios, he adds.

To include a land auction or land sale in this monthly report, please email [email protected] or call 620-253-5497.

About the Author

Jennifer M. Latzke

Editor, Kansas Farmer

Through all her travels, Jennifer M. Latzke knows that there is no place like Kansas.

Jennifer grew up on her family’s multigenerational registered Angus seedstock ranch and diversified farm just north of Woodbine, Kan., about 30 minutes south of Junction City on the edge of the Kansas Flint Hills. Rock Springs Ranch State 4-H Center was in her family’s backyard.

While at Kansas State University, Jennifer was a member of the Sigma Kappa Sorority and a national officer for the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow. She graduated in May 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications and a minor in animal science. In August 2000 Jennifer started her 20-year agricultural writing career in Dodge City, Kan., on the far southwest corner of the state.

She’s traveled across the U.S. writing on wheat, sorghum, corn, cotton, dairy and beef stories as well as breaking news and policy at the local, state and national levels. Latzke has traveled across Mexico and South America with the U.S. Wheat Associates and toured Vietnam as a member of KARL Class X. She’s traveled to Argentina as one of 10 IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Agricultural Journalism. And she was part of a delegation of AAEA: The Ag Communicators Network members invited to Cuba.

Jennifer’s an award-winning writer, columnist, and podcaster, recognized by the Kansas Professional Communicators, Kansas Press Association, the National Federation of Presswomen, Livestock Publications Council, and AAEA. In 2019, Jennifer reached the pinnacle of achievements, earning the title of “Writer of Merit” from AAEA.

Trips and accolades are lovely, but Jennifer says she is happiest on the road talking to farmers and ranchers and gathering stories and photos to share with readers.

“It’s an honor and a great responsibility to be able to tell someone’s story and bring them recognition for their work on the land,” Jennifer says. “But my role is also evolving to help our more urban neighbors understand the issues our Kansas farmers face in bringing the food and fiber to their store shelves.”

She spends her time gardening, crafting, watching K-State football, and cheering on her nephews and niece in their 4-H projects. She can be found on Twitter at @Latzke.

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