Nebraska cropland values increased by 23 percent over the past year according to the Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey done by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This is the highest increase survey authors have seen over the past 30 years.

When adding up the last five years worth of increases, land values in Nebraska stand at a staggering 88 percent higher today than they were in 2003. Cash rental rates for cropland also saw the sharpest increase ever, averaging anywhere from 17 to 23 percent higher than last year.

The highest rental rates of $200 per acre were found in the East and Northeast parts of the state. Grazing land is also on the rise. Although not as high as cropland values, grazing land increased anywhere from roughly 8 to 19 percent.

Nebraska is not alone when it comes to ever-increasing land values. Several states are seeing annual increases. Iowa, for example, saw an average increase of 22 percent, their new record high, according to a survey conducted by Iowa State University. This puts Iowa's five-year increase at 67 percent. According to an article in Top Producer, some cash rents in Illinois and Iowa were reported as high as $350 to $400 per acre.

Challenges for Beginners
While higher land values and cash rents may benefit landowners, it creates monumental challenges for beginning farmers and ranchers by making it nearly impossible for them to gain access to land.

In 1978, there were 350,000 farmers 34 years of age or younger who considered farming their primary occupation. By 2002, that number fell to fewer than 70,000. We have reported on these numbers before but believe they bear repeating. There is a larger societal issue to grapple with here, one that deserves great attention.

Who will farm the land if we don't do what it takes to help beginning farmers and ranchers access the most important resource? To provide a strong future for rural America we must address this issue.

Farm Programs Have Not Leveled the Playing Field
When the final farm bill passes it will hopefully include several beginning farmer and rancher provisions we have been championing. These measures will be a great benefit to aspiring farmers and ranchers across the country.

But probably even more important is for the farm bill to ensure other programs operate fairly and level the playing field, rather than eliminate the playing field all together. The program that comes to mind is the commodity program.

While the current ethanol market may be doing more to drive up land values than the farm program, it still plays a significant role. If the farm bill enables mega-farms to continue creating "paper" farms to exceed the limits, they will have an unfair advantage over everyone else. This advantage gives them extra dollars to continue bidding into land values and cash rents.

Additionally, land value increases and unfair playing fields have an impact on and small and mid-size family farmers and ranchers by continuing to squeeze their ability to keep up with the ever-increasing costs of production. We can't eliminate our family farmers and ranchers and expect to leave room for beginners either.

So while it will be great to gain new programs that will help beginning farmers and ranchers in the final farm bill, it will be a grave disappointment if the final bill fails to address the advantages the farm program gives mega farmers.

Contact: Traci Bruckner, tracib@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1016 for more information.

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