U.S. FARMLAND VALUES UP 20% IN FIRST QUARTER

(MarketWatch) -- MarketWatch.com reports that "U.S. farmland values continued to climb in the first quarter, with the price of cropland in the heart of the Great Plains rising 20% in the first quarter." That's according to a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. "The gain in cropland values versus a year ago was led by increases in Nebraska and Kansas, where non-irrigated land values jumped 24%”, the Fed said.