Despite drought, the value of California cropland land has risen 5.4 percent this year, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture survey data. No doubt my economist friends can help me here with an explanation of what this says about how the market is pricing questions about uncertainty, water supply and risk. Looks like maybe drought has slowed the upward growth? But in the two years before the drought set in, cropland value dropped, then began rising again during the drought. Dunno:
Source: USDA
2015 elsewhere around the Colorado River Basin states:
- Arizona: $8320 an acre, unchanged from 2015
- Colorado: $1,910, up 3.8 percent
- New Mexico: $1,440, down 0.7 percent
- Utah: $3,300, up $1.2 percent
- Wyoming: $1,370, unchanged
all land values took a break during the recent recession, but some are influenced more by world demand than others. i think recent increases reflect the global demand for food and commodity crops. i doubt the demand for food is going to go down much in the coming years…