Agrimoney.com is reporting that this year marks “the biggest slide in US farmland prices since at least the 1980s.” The records on this topic only cover a span of time back to 1990. Still, according to those records, the 2 percent drop experienced this year is the largest ever.In the last two years land prices had ‘“spike[d],”’ but this decline was “led by ranchland, where prices fell 4.7 % year on year.” “The value of arable land dropped by 1.7% for non-irrigated plots, and 3.0% where irrigation is available.” Agrimoney.com reports that Mountain States suffered the steepest decline.
It has not been a good financial year, generally speaking, for agriculture. Prices have dropped while the cost of production has increased. This reality is reflected in “lower rates of farm loan repayments and rising demands for new borrowing.” Agrimoney.com reports that bankers from New Mexico to Oklahoma are seeing the livestock industry being hit the hardest as meat demand has died down during the recession and the industry has had a series of recalls over the year.
“A banker in Oklahoma told the Federal Reserve that ‘poultry farmers are in significant distress. Farms are going out of business every week.’” “A New Mexico banker said: ‘We have lost three feed yards and one large swine feeding facility in our area.”’
A tough year for those who work the land, as reflected in the numbers.
To read the Agrimoney.com report click here.
Posted: 11/16/09
