SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- South Dakota farmland values have tripled in the past decade, thanks to low interest rates and high commodity prices.
Agriculture officials say it's a trend that likely can't be sustained, but they also say there shouldn't be chaos if and when the bubble finally bursts.
The Argus Leader reports that the value of agricultural land has risen from $421 per acre to $1,374 since 2002. Many in the industry remember a similar spike in the early 1980s, which was followed by a crash that devalued the land by half and led to widespread bankruptcies and bank closings.
South DakotaAgriculture Secretary Walt Bones says the forces that created the farm crisis of the 1980s were different than today. He says in the 1980s, land values were driven up by inflation.
