Each year the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) publishes their Land Values Summary. Nationwide, farm real estate values average $3,080 per acre in 2017, up $70 an acre or 2.3 % from 2016.
Farm real estate value is the value at which all all land and buildings used for agriculture production including dwellings, could be sold under current market conditions, if allowed to remain on the market for a reasonable amount of time.
The Mountain region, which includes Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, has the lowest farm real estate value at $1,130 per acre. The graph below illustrates the changes in value by state in the Intermountain West from 2013 to 2017.
Farm Real Estate Average Value per Acre ($/AC)
The United States cropland value remained at $4090, which is the same value from 2016. Values in the Mountain region increased 1.1% year-over-year to $1,780. The change in cropland value from 2013 to 2017 for the Intermountain West by state are shown below.
Cropland Average Value per Acre ($/AC)
The cropland values shown above include a mix of irrigated and non-irrigated properties. In 2017, the difference between irrigated and non-irrigated cropland values by states ranged as follows (State - irrigated $/AC, non-irrigated $/AC):
- Colorado - $4,600, $1,260
- Idaho - $5,150, $1,460
- Montana - $2,980, $830
- New Mexico - $3,930, $440
- Wyoming - $2,170, $760
In Colorado, Idaho, and Montana, the value of non-irrigated cropland acres in 2017 is about 28% of the value of irrigated acres. In New Mexico, the range between the two is much higher with non-irrigated acres valued at 11% of irrigated acres. The range between the two types of cropland is tightest in Wyoming where non-irrigated acres are valued at 35% of the value of irrigated acres.
Across the entire country, the pasture value increased by 1.5% from 2016 values. In the Mountain region, values rose 1.3% to $625 per acre in 2017. The changes in the average pasture value per acre across the Intermountain West are displayed in the chart below.