Question 1

How is farmland appraised?

Accepted Answer

Farmland is appraised primarily by the sales comparison approach — recent sales of similar land, adjusted for soil, water, access, and improvements — cross-checked by the income approach, which capitalizes cash rent. A qualified ag appraisal takes 2–6 weeks and typically costs $2,000–$6,000 depending on complexity.

Question 2

What is a good price per acre for farmland?

Accepted Answer

There is no national answer — U.S. cropland averaged roughly $5,500–$6,000 per acre in recent USDA surveys, but real prices run from under $2,000 in the western plains to over $15,000 in prime Corn Belt counties, and $50,000-plus for established Napa vineyard ground. Value your county, not the country.

Question 3

What is CSR2 and how does it affect Iowa land value?

Accepted Answer

CSR2 — Corn Suitability Rating 2 — is Iowa State University's 0–100 index of a soil's inherent row-crop productivity, calculated for every mapped soil in Iowa. Buyers and appraisers commonly quote Iowa farmland in dollars per CSR2 point per acre; higher-rated ground reliably commands more per acre.

Question 4

How do water rights affect appraised land value?

Accepted Answer

In the irrigated West, water rights can be worth more than the dirt — irrigated ground routinely appraises at 2–5 times the value of adjacent dryland. Appraisers value the right by its priority date, reliable yield, and transferability. Land that loses its water loses most of its value with it.

Question 5

Do permanent plantings like vines and orchard trees add appraised value?

Accepted Answer

Yes — established, producing plantings add real appraised value, often $10,000–$40,000-plus per acre for mature vineyards and orchards on top of the bare land. But the value curve is a hump: young plantings add less than they cost to install, and old or diseased blocks can appraise below bare ground.

Question 6

How does an AVA affect vineyard land value?

Accepted Answer

An American Viticultural Area (AVA) designation lets wine made from the land carry that appellation on the label, and the market pays for it: comparable vineyard ground inside a prestigious AVA can appraise at several times land just outside the line. Napa Valley plantable ground trades at hundreds of thousands per acre; unheralded AVAs add little.

Question 7

Why did my appraisal come in below my purchase price?

Accepted Answer

Because appraisals measure the market, and you may have paid above it — common after competitive auctions, 1031-driven bids, or paying a premium for the farm next door. A low appraisal shrinks your maximum loan, since lenders use the lesser of price or appraised value, but it does not have to kill the deal.

Question 8

What are comparable sales, and where do appraisers find them for farmland?

Accepted Answer

Comparable sales — comps — are recent arm's-length sales of similar land that anchor an appraisal. For farmland, appraisers pull them from county recorder and assessor records, auction results, farm real estate brokers, ag lender databases, and services like AcreValue, then verify each sale directly with a party to the transaction.

Question 9

How long is a land appraisal valid?

Accepted Answer

Most lenders accept an appraisal for 6–12 months from its effective date, with 12 months as a common outer limit for stable ag markets. The appraisal itself never legally expires — it is an opinion of value as of one date — but lenders stop relying on it as the market moves.

Question 10

Can I use my county tax assessment or my own appraisal instead of the lender's?

Accepted Answer

No — county assessments are not market value, and lenders order their own appraisals. Assessed values on farmland are usually based on productivity formulas or capped by statute, often running 30–70% below market. And an appraisal you commissioned was not prepared for the lender, so it cannot carry their credit decision.

Question 11

What makes land hard to appraise?

Accepted Answer

Land gets hard to appraise when comparable sales are scarce or the property is unlike its neighbors: very large or very small parcels, mixed uses, specialty crops, conservation easements, landlocked ground, unusual water situations, or income streams like hunting leases and cell towers. Hard-to-appraise usually means slower, costlier, and more conservative.

Question 12

Does road access — or being landlocked — change land value?

Accepted Answer

Substantially. Landlocked ground with no legal access commonly appraises 30–60% below comparable parcels with deeded road frontage, and some lenders will not touch it at all. Legal access matters more than physical access: a recorded easement you can enforce beats a farm path the neighbor lets you use.

Question 13

How do easements affect land value?

Accepted Answer

It depends on which side of the easement you are on. An access easement benefiting your land adds value; a pipeline, powerline, or conservation easement burdening it subtracts — anywhere from a few percent for a buried line along a fence row to 40–70% of value for a perpetual conservation easement that bars development.

Question 14

What is the USDA land values survey and how should I use it?

Accepted Answer

USDA's annual Land Values summary, published by NASS each August, reports average per-acre values for farm real estate, cropland, and pasture by state and region, with county-level data in the Census of Agriculture years. It is the best free benchmark for trend and direction — but it is an average, never an appraisal.

Land Value & Appraisal