News Farmland
Government aid and investors boost US land prices
US farmland values rose again in 2025, according to a new report The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that the average price of farmland has risen by $180 to a record $4.350 per acre. This is the fifth consecutive year of significant price increases.
Arable land prices rose 4,7% to $5.830 per acre, while grassland prices rose 5% to $1.920 per acre. The largest price increase occurred in Michigan (+7,8%), followed by Tennessee and South Dakota. Farmland is most expensive in the Northeast and California, where there is a relatively large amount of warm soil. US lease prices also reached new records, but the increase was small. On average, rent for arable land rose 0,6% to $161 per acre.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the land market is supported by substantial federal aid packages, including $30 billion in emergency relief for extreme weather and low yields. Without this support, prices would likely rise less sharply, the researchers conclude.
In addition, investor demand and competition from solar energy projects are putting additional pressure on the land market. The Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to take land out of production, is expected to expire at the end of September without an extension. This could potentially bring additional land onto the market.
America first on the land market
In addition, the USDA wants to curb the entry of foreign investors. The Trump administration wants to severely restrict the purchase of agricultural land by foreign investors, particularly from China. Last month, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins stated that foreign land acquisitions pose a threat to national security.
Her plan includes stricter property disclosure, higher fines for false declarations, and a ban on purchases by so-called hostile countries. The measure follows earlier political steps: in 2023, the Senate voted almost unanimously to ban Chinese agricultural land purchases, and in 2024, the Biden administration introduced a proposal to prevent purchases near strategic locations, such as defense sites.
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