Here’s an excerpt from an article on land values published in the November 2013 issue of Progressive Farmer….”Clift Land Brokers has a big footprint when it comes to farm and ranch land, leaving George Clift with a broad perspective. The broker says there are two regions he’d look to invest in today: the High Plains of Texas or the eastern areas of North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. In the High Plains, he’d focus on grain-deficit areas, where the commodity brings a premium over the Midwest. He says land here is a consistent producer, drawing from underground aquifers.
“Returns of farms in the High Plains will exceed that of other regions, but you have to understand it. Here it’s all about water and the regulation of water.”
Land prices in the High Plains can range from $750 to $6,000 an acre, depending on the water situation, he explains. But irrigated cropping means you control the variables. A typical irrigated corn crop will take 24 inches of water, and yields will consistently average 220 to 240 bushels per acre.
Looking east, Clift would want to buy land where you could take out trees and convert to row crops. He expects yields on his investment would be 5 to 6% in the High Plains versus 3% in the Midwest, 4 to 5% in the Delta and 4 to 5% in the eastern states.
Here’s the full article Progressive Farmer – Land Values