Neb. corn harvest called 2nd-highest on record
(AP) — The Nebraska corn crop is expected to be the second-highest on record at 1.38 billion bushels. The latest USDA estimate says Nebraska's corn crop will come in 7% under last year's record harvest of 1.47 billion bushels. Nebraska's soybean crop will come in at an estimated 14% higher than last year. Sorghum production was forecast to be the third-highest on record -- 19% below a year ago. Nebraska production of sugar beets was down 20% from last year, mostly because fewer acres were planted for harvest. Potato production was forecast at 4% less than a year ago.
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.
(AP) — The Nebraska corn crop is expected to be the second-highest on record at 1.38 billion bushels. The latest USDA estimate says Nebraska's corn crop will come in 7% under last year's record harvest of 1.47 billion bushels. Nebraska's soybean crop will come in at an estimated 14% higher than last year. Sorghum production was forecast to be the third-highest on record -- 19% below a year ago. Nebraska production of sugar beets was down 20% from last year, mostly because fewer acres were planted for harvest. Potato production was forecast at 4% less than a year ago.
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.
