The annual survey has been conducted of farmland sales in 14 southwest Minnesota counties. The survey collects bare farmland sales to non-related parties for the first six months of each year.
Land values had been steadily increasing until 2014. After reaching record-high prices in 2013, the upward trend was broken as prices declined in 2014 and continued down through 2017. This year the increase across the 14 counties averaged 14.7 percent after a 27.9 percent increase in 2022.
Southwest Minnesota land prices peaked at $8,466 per acre then declined through 2017 to $6,340 until increasing in 2018 to $6,589. They declined slightly to $6,576 in 2019 and to $6,371 in 2020 before increasing in 2022 to $6,873. Prices then reached a new high of $9,950 in 2023. The largest increase year to year was in 2013 with an increase of 35.6 percent.
Farmland prices decreased in one county, Lac qui Parle, but increased in 13 counties from 2022 to 2023. Most counties went up significantly from 2022 to 2023. The largest increase was in Murray County with an increase of 37.1 percent, while Lac qui Parle County experienced a decrease of 5.7 percent for the sales that met the bare farmland to non-related party transaction requirements.
Jackson County had the highest average sale price of $12,656 per acre, and Lac qui Parle County had the lowest at $6,348 per acre.
