MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas farmland values have dropped an average of 11 percent over the past two years, pulled down by lower grain and livestock prices and a dramatic drop in farm and ranch income. The downward trend is likely to continue through 2017, and the news likely won’t be much better next year, according to a Kansas State University agricultural economist.
“We’ve seen incredible volatility in land values in the last six years,” said Mykel Taylor, associate professor and farm management specialist with K-State Research and Extension. During that time, historic high prices were recorded in 2014-2015 followed by sliding values in 2016 and so far this year.
Values for non-irrigated or dryland cropland in Kansas have fallen the most – 17 percent since 2015 – said Taylor, who gave a presentation on the topic at the recent K-State Risk and Profit Conference in Manhattan. Prices for irrigated cropland dropped 9 percent, and pasture land values fell 5 percent in that period.