It’s official. North Dakota land values have declined for the second consecutive year, according to a survey commissioned by the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands Trust and a report from the North Dakota Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

The Land Trust study says land values declined an average of 4% statewide in 2015.

The rural appraisers pegged the drop at 9%.

Cropland values were not down everywhere, though. In the northwest North Dakota –- where durum and pulse crops were generally profitable in 2015 –- land values increased by an average of 13%.

Land values in the south-central, northern Red River Valley, southwest and north-central regions were essentially flat, being within 1% up or down from last year.

Cropland values declined 12% in the southern Red River Valley and the east-central region.

“Going forward, the question is: How fast and how far will land values decline?” says Andrew Swenson, North Dakota State University Extension Service farm management specialist.

Swenson says he expects land values to drop by 5-10% this year due to current projected crop budgets.

Mediocre to slightly poor yields, coupled with the low market prices, this year could create a farm financial crisis, he said in a release issued by the NDSU Extension Communications.