Mississippi Agricultural Land Values and Cash Rents Report--2017

Dr. Bryon Parman, Assistant Extension Professor in MSU’s Dept. of Agricultural Economics, has produced Publication 3118 entitled “Mississippi Agricultural Land Values and Cash Rents Report: 2017 Survey of Lenders”. This report focuses on land values and rents for Mississippi, and is intended to be an information guide for producers, landowners, and professionals working in the agricultural real estate and finance sectors.

The report is based on a survey conducted in May 2017, and participants included agricultural lenders, farm appraisers, farm managers, and agricultural economists. Sixty-three percent of the 94 sent surveys were completed and returned from the four designated regions [Southwest, Southeast, Northeast, and Northwest (Delta)] of the state.

Major findings from the survey follow [table numbers in brackets refer to tables in the above publication].

•   Land sales values for nonirrigated and irrigated cropland in the Delta changed by +3% and 0%, respectively, between 2016 and 2017 (Table 3).

•   Rents for Delta nonirrigated cropland fell 4.4% from 2016 to 2017, whereas rents for Delta irrigated cropland fell only 2.3% over the same period (Table 3).

•   Land sales values for non-Delta nonirrigated and irrigated cropland changed +8.6% and +1.9%, respectively, from 2016 to 2017 (Table 5).

•   Rents for non-Delta nonirrigated cropland fell 1% from 2016 to 2017, whereas rents for non-Delta irrigated cropland increased 3% over the same period (Table 5).

•   Most survey respondents expect rents to move downward in the next year; however, 30% of the respondents expect rents to remain unchanged.

•   Cash rents across Mississippi continue the downward trend which began in 2014.

Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Aug. 2017, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net