AG ECONOMIST SEES PLATEAU, NOT CLIFF, IN LATEST LAND PRICES

(Lincoln Journal Star/journalstar.com) -- The Lincoln Journal Star reports that "in just 12 months, the value of agricultural land in Nebraska went from its largest increase in a quarter century to being absolutely flat." A year ago, an annual survey by UNL put ag land values increasing at the rate of 23%, a 30-year record.

The latest survey results, released late last week by agricultural economist Bruce Johnson, lower that figure to zero. Experts who keep "a close eye on where agriculture is headed this year see a plateau, rather than a cliff" and don't "see a comparison to the national housing market, which produced a rapid rise and then a rapid fall." See the story at <http://journalstar.com/articles/2009/03/27/news/local/doc49cba5003ddde238403963.txt>

AG LAND PRICES MAY BE WILTING

(Omaha World-Herald) -- After several years of double-digit growth, agricultural land values might be on the decline. While prices for cropland remain high, some properties are fetching 10 to 20% less than they would have a few months ago, agricultural real estate agents said. Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa State University say they don't yet have data to show a decline, but anecdotal evidence suggests the red-hot markets of recent years may be cooling. State Sen. Kent Rogert of Tekamah, who sells agricultural real estate, seed and other ag services, said land prices in northeast Nebraska -- which had experienced a "land boom'' -- have dropped as much as 20% in three months. Chris Langemeier of Schuyler, another state senator who sells agricultural real estate, said he has not seen a downturn. At a land auction Friday in Leigh, a 40-acre parcel of dryland farm ground sold for about $2,800 an acre, he said. Researchers and real estate agents said the next several months will reveal more about future land values.