Strong cattle prices sent ranchland values soaring in the first quarter of 2026, reports the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. In its quarterly survey of ag bankers throughout its seven-state district, the bank says ranchland values jumped nearly 11% to a new record high. In addition, the bank states the value of non-irrigated and irrigated cropland increased about 2.5% and 4%, respectively. The modest gains in cropland values are the first since early 2024.
Ranchland cash rents rose steadily, but cropland rents showed further signs of softening. The average cash rent on ranchland rose about 2% versus the previous year – also a new record high. Despite slightly higher cropland valuations, cropland rents declined about 1.5%.
The bank notes the combination of farm loan interest rates dropping slightly closer to their longer-term average and arrival of government payments provided support to farm finances. However, it says credit conditions continue to show signs of gradual deterioration as measures of repayment rates, carryover debt and loan restructuring remained similar to a year ago.
Deterioration in loan repayment was modest, but persistent, the bank states. The pace of decline in farm loan repayment rates picked up slightly from the previous quarter but was less pronounced than in early 2025. The share of lenders reporting loan repayment rates were lower than the same time a year ago dropped to around 20% in almost all states except the Mountain States.
Instances of unpaid carryover debt remained slightly elevated as crop producers renewed operating loans after a third year of limited profits during 2025. Lenders across the region, on average, report about 20% of borrowers had an increase in carryover debt compared with last year. The average among all lenders was similar to last year and remain below the average from 2015-2020 in all states except Missouri.
Loan restructuring was slightly elevated as many borrowers adjusted to financial challenges, but loan denials remained minimal. The average share of loans that involved restructuring to meet liquidity needs was also similar to last year and below the average from 2016-2020 in all states except Missouri. The average share of loan requests denied because of cash flow or collateral shortages remained near 2% across the district but was also slightly higher in Missouri.
The bank serves Kansas, Nebraska, western Missouri, Oklahoma and the mountain states of Colorado, northern New Mexico and Wyoming.