FARM REAL ESTATE VALUES UP 8.4 PERCENT FROM 2004

Columbia, S. C., August 5, 2005 South Carolina’s farm real estate average value per acre,including land and buildings, reached an all time high of $2,330 per acre as of January 1, 2005, according to the USDA NASS South Carolina Field Office. This is 8.4 percent above 2004, at $2,150, `and 13.7 percent above 2003, at $2,050. Cropland average value increased 10.8 percent, at $2,050 for 2005, from $1,850 in 2004, and 17.1 percent above the $1,750 in 2003.

Farm real estate average value per acre for the Southeast Region reached a high of $2,740. This is 13.2 percent above 2004's value of $2,420, and 20.7 percent above 2003's value of $2,270. The Southeast Region includes, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

The U.S. farm real estate values, a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms, averaged $1,510 per acre on January 1, 2005, up 11.0 percent from 2004. This is the largest percentage increase since 1981, when farm real estate values rose 11.1 percent from the previous year. The $150 per acre increase is the largest dollar increase on record. The previous record was 1980, when values climbed $109 per acre above the 1979 value.

 Cropland and pasture values in the U.S. rose by 11.3 and 9.5 percent, respectively, from January 1, 2004. Cropland values averaged $1,970 per acre and pasture values averaged $694 per acre on January 1, 2005, compared with $1,770 and $634 per acre, respectively, a year earlier. The value of other land and buildings increased 11.9 percent.

For additional information, please call:    Robert A. Graham, Director

                                                                James H. Johnson, Agricultural Statistician