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MARSHALL — Average farmland prices in southwest Minnesota increased 6.4% last year, data from an annual University of Minnesota Extension survey said.

The average farmland price across a 14-county area in southwest Minnesota was $6,780 per acre in 2021, which was up from 2020’s average of $6,371 an acre, the survey said. In Lyon County, the average farmland sale price in 2021 was $6,902 an acre, compared to $5,509 an acre in 2020.

The annual survey collected data on sales of bare farmland, to people who were not related to each other, during the first six months of the year. The U of M Extension has conducted the survey every year going back decades, said Dave Bau, Extension educator in ag business management at the U of M Extension regional office in Worthington.

“It’s valuable information. People like to know these trends,” Bau said.

Overall, average farmland prices in the 14-county region increased from 2020 to 2021. But survey results said average prices didn’t necessarily increase in individual counties. Farmland prices decreased in Cottonwood, Jackson, Martin and Rock counties. There was also a lot of variability in how much average prices changed from county to county.

Lincoln County had the biggest increase in average farmland price in the region, jumping from $3,853 an acre in 2020 to $6,350 in 2021, the survey said.

The average prices in the survey also varied from county to county. Pipestone County had the highest average sale price in the region in 2021, at $9,008 per acre of land. Lac qui Parle County had the lowest average sale price, at $4,719 per acre.

There are a lot of factors that can affect the average farmland values in southwest Minnesota from year to year, Bau said. The number of land sales in a particular year, the quality of the land, grain prices and other factors all play a role.

How farmland values change in the future will also depend on several factors, including grain prices and farmland rental rates, the Extension said.

“Corn and soybean prices were high in 2021 and remain high starting 2022. This should have an impact of profits, farm rental rates and eventually farmland values,” an Extension news release said Monday.

On Monday, the Extension also released information on average farmland rent paid by farmers in adult farm management programs. In the 14-county southwest Minnesota region, the average rental rate was estimated to be $203 per acre, the same as it was in 2020. However, estimated 2022 rental rates were higher, at $221 per acre.

The 2021 and 2022 estimates were based on actual rental data form the FINBIN farm financial database, the Extension said.

In Lyon County, the average farmland rental rate was estimated to be $192 per acre in 2021, and $208 in 2022.

The summary report for the 2021 farmland price survey is available at county Extension offices in Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, Watonwan and Yellow Medicine counties.

More information on Minnesota farmland sales and land values going back to the 1990s is available online at landeconomics.umn.edu, Bau said.

Bau said more information on farmland rental rates in Minnesota is available online at https://extension.umn.edu/business/farmland-rent-and-economics. The web page includes a statewide map with rental rates as well as a county-by-county breakdown of cropland rental rates. Videos of farmland rental rate workshops are also available online at z.umn.edu/LandRentVideos.

The Farm Resource Guide for 2022 is now available at many University of Minnesota Extension offices around the state, Bau said. The Resource Guide includes information on topics including farmland rent and rental agreements, farmland sales, marketing and commodity price probabilities.