08/07/08 Washington ag land values still rising

Washington Ag August 7, 2008 Agricultural real estate values in Washington state increased ten percent over the past year to average over two-thousand dollars an acre. Those are numbers from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service's 2008 summary of Land Values and Cash Rents. They reflect the value of land and buildings. The report shows non-irrigated cropland in Washington averaging 12-hundred-50 dollars acre this year, a 9.6% increase over 2007. Irrigated cropland is valued at an average of 43-hundred-50 dollars an acre, up 8.8 percent from last year. Irrigated cash rents were up 20 dollars an acre to 230 dollars. Average pasture land value in Washington increased over 14 percent from 2007 to 800 dollars an acre. USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber says that on a national basis, farmland values have doubled since 2000. Glauber: "And to put that into dollar terms we have added a trillion dollars in terms of real estate value. I mean, just an incredible increase." Glauber says record commodity prices and low interest rates have been factors in the rising value of agricultural real estate. I'm Bob Hoff.