The average value of cropland and rent can vary from year to year in the Southeast, and between this year and last, averages dropped in some locations and went up in others.

The good people at the National Agricultural Statistics Service Southern Region did the surveying and computation and released the most-recent Land Values and Cash Rent report Aug. 3.

Alabama farm real estate values, a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on a farm, increased $30 per acre, up about 1 percent from last year. South Carolina’s value went up by $10 per acre, or less than .5 percent from 2017. Farm real estate values in Georgia decreased by $50 per acre, or down 1.4 percent compared to 2017. Florida had no change in value.

In Alabama, cash rent for cropland averaged $61.50 per acre, an increase of $3.50 from last year. Cash rent for cropland in Florida decreased $8 to $115 per acre. Georgia cash rent for cropland fell $4 in 2018 to $116 per acre. In South Carolina, cash rent for cropland for 2018 increased $2 to $48.50 per acre.

A few specific takeaways from the report.

Irrigated Cropland Average Per-acre Value:

Non-irrigated Cropland Average Per-acre Value:

Average Cash Rent Per Irrigated Acre:

Average Cash Rent Per Non-irrigated Acre:

Pasture Land Average Value Per Acre:

Pasture Land Average Rent Per Acre:

Nationally, the farm real estate value averaged $3,140 per acre for 2018, up $60 per acre from 2017 values.  Cash rent paid to landlords for all cropland in the United States increased $2 to $138 per acre in 2018. Cash rent for pasture is unchanged at $12.50 per acre.

According to NASS, the estimates of land values in the report are based primarily on the June Area Survey conducted during the first two weeks of June. This annual survey uses a complete, probability-based land-area sampling frame. A sample of approximately 11,000 segments of land is selected, each approximately one square mile in size.