Farmland values climb higher in 2026
U.S. agricultural land values reached another record high in 2026, and cash rents remained near historically high levels, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Land Values 2026 Summary report.
The increase marks the sixth consecutive year of growth, although the pace of appreciation has slowed from the sharp increases seen earlier in the decade.
Farm real estate
The average U.S. farm real estate value increased 3.4%, which is $150 per acre, from 2025. Since 2020, values have increased nearly 44%.
Land values remain uneven across the country as development, energy projects and other competing land uses add pressure to agricultural land markets in some areas.
The largest percentage gains since 2020 have been concentrated in the central Plains. Kansas led the nation with a 76% increase, followed by Nebraska at 65% and South Dakota at 61%.
Higher land values can strengthen equity and borrowing capacity for landowners. However, record purchase prices also increase the cost of entering or expanding an operation, particularly for beginning farmers.
Cropland and pastureland values
The average U.S. cropland value increased 3.3% in 2026 to a record $6,020 per acre. That’s $190 more than last year and 48% higher than in 2020.
The largest increases since 2020 were reported in Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, where cropland values increased 78%, 67% and 64%, respectively.
Pastureland values increased at a slightly faster pace. The national average rose 4.2% to a record $2,000 per acre. Pasture values are nearly 43% higher than in 2020, with the strongest appreciation concentrated across the Plains and Midwest.
Kansas led the nation with an 83% increase in pastureland values in the last six years, followed by Nebraska at 60%.
Texas land values
Texas agricultural land values also remain elevated.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported Texas dryland cropland averaged $3,642 per acre during the second quarter of 2026, up 7.7% from a year earlier.
Irrigated cropland averaged $3,366 per acre, down 2.5% from the previous year. Texas ranchland averaged $4,467 per acre, an increase of 3.6%.
Values varied considerably across the state. Dryland cropland averaged $7,750 per acre in North Central Texas and $7,617 in Central Texas. Ranchland averaged $11,313 per acre in Central Texas and $8,000 in North Central Texas.
Dallas Fed agricultural bankers expect continued pressure on farmland prices. Competition from non-agricultural uses was cited as one factor supporting higher values.
Cash rents
Cash rents remained near record levels in 2026.
The average U.S. cropland rent declined by $1 to $160 per acre. Irrigated cropland rent held steady at $244 per acre, while non-irrigated cropland rent declined $1 to $146 per acre.
Pastureland rent increased $1 to a record $16.50 per acre.
In Texas, the average cropland cash rent was $50 per acre, among the lowest reported in the nation. Oklahoma and Montana averaged about $41 per acre, while Wyoming averaged $53 per acre.
The impact
The continued increase in farmland values provides benefits for landowners through stronger equity and collateral, AFBF economists noted. But producers who rent land do not receive those equity gains while still facing elevated land costs.
“The shift is creating an increasingly divided experience within the farm economy,” AFBF Economist Daniel Munch said. “Farmers who own land benefit from stronger equity and collateral, while renters, beginning farmers and operations seeking to expand face record purchase prices and rents that remain near historic highs even as crop margins further weaken.”
