While farm economics face tightening margins, the ground beneath them has never been more valuable.
New USDA data reveals a 47% surge in rented farmland value over the last decade, even as the footprint of available acreage shrinks. With $1.7 trillion in assets now held by a shifting demographic of landlords, the landscape of American agriculture is undergoing a transformation.
Per the 2024 Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) survey, there are a little more than 2 million landowners renting out 347.8 million acres for agricultural production. That compares to 2% fewer landlords in 2014, but 10 years ago there was 353.8 million acres rented out.
Geographically, 87% of rented ag land is located in the Midwest, plains and west—leaving only 13% in the Atlantic and South regions.
Of the total landowners in 2024, 87% are non-operating landlords (1,830,043) renting out 276,082,757 acres. For acres owned by the share of non-operating landlords, privately owned land was 38%, trusts were 27%, and family owned legal entities was 26%.
Nearly 52% of all the principal landlords have never farmed.
What Does This Mean for Land Values and Availability?
Despite challenge farm economics, limited inventory of land available for sale continues to support land values.
In 2024, landlords received $34.1 billion in rent payments, which is up 9% from 2014. However, the value of the land and buildings they rented out was $1.7 trillion, up 47% from 2014.
“About 5% of the nearly 900 million U.S. farmland acres, or about 43 million acres, is slated for ownership transfer in the next five years, not including farmland that is in or is expected to be put into wills or trusts,” said Joseph L. Parsons, NASS Administrator, in the study’s press release.
Per USDA, 10% of owned farmland is or will be placed in trust in the next five years, and another 15% is or will be written into a will in the next five years.
Looking at a shorter time horizon, the latest Farm Journal research shows nearly 15% of American cropland is projected to be “at risk” of changing hands within the next three years — including operations that downsize, sell, change management or change ownership through a will, trust, or other transference. Farm Journal data identifies the Midwest as the epicenter of this shift, with roughly 12 million acres likely to transition. Nationwide, that total reaches a staggering 44 million acres.
How Will Land be Transferred?
USDA predicts a small percentage of farmland will be available for purchase and also asked its respondents to look beyond five years. For all owned farmland, the agency says 22.8 million acres will be sold to non-relatives, 12.8 will be sold to relatives, 7.4 million acres will be gifted or donated. More than 226.7 million acres will kept or placed in a trust or will
For more insight on landowner age and debt, in 2024, more than a third of non-operating landlords were 75 and over. Landlords 65+ held little debt, 21% of debt owed by non-operating landlords. Landlords aged 64 or less held the majority of debt.