The 2024 season was a textbook case of everything that could go wrong, doing just that. An overly wet spring created ideal conditions for disease pressure—particularly devastating in forages where chemical control options are limited. Then, the weather turned bone dry through the critical summer production period. Even when rain did return, it was too much too fast, followed by six-week dry spells. Many producers across Georgia, especially in the north, were unable to build stockpile reserves for winter due to the fall drought, leading to widespread forage shortfalls.

Adding insult to injury, fall armyworms blanketed nearly every county in Georgia, cutting into yields and forcing producers to spend heavily on insecticides—an unexpected and steep input cost.

2025 Outlook: Higher Input Costs, Lower Hay Supplies

According to Baxter, this year isn’t looking much easier. Seed availability is tight due to weather issues in the western U.S., and fertilizer prices remain stubbornly high. Many forage growers are heading into 2025 with empty hay barns, limited reserves, and grazing challenges that could affect herd size decisions. The guidance from UGA Extension is clear: carefully manage stocking rates early and match herd sizes to forage availability.

At AgValue Consulting, we’re already seeing these conditions affect client needs—especially in:

• Farm Appraisals: Forage shortfalls and increased input costs directly impact net farm income, which can influence land values and appraisal outcomes. Fields once deemed productive are being re-evaluated based on volatility and recovery potential.

• Dairy and Livestock Operations: Operations relying on hay as a feed component are facing margin pressure. If hay availability remains tight, herd downsizing may occur, altering operational cash flows and affecting the valuation outlook.

• Poultry & Cattle Farm Lending: Ag lenders are asking more detailed questions around input costs, forage planning, and risk mitigation. Our clients are leaning on us for clear, evidence-backed assessments as they restructure debt or expand.

• Farm Machinery & Equipment Appraisals: An uptick in pivots being repurposed for forage production means more demand for customized machinery appraisals—particularly where multi-use or cross-functional assets are involved.

Strategic Advice for AgValue Clients

If you’re a Georgia forage or livestock producer navigating these headwinds, here’s what to consider:

• Update Your Appraisal: Market volatility in land and forage productivity should prompt updated valuations for refinancing, insurance coverage, or asset planning.

• Document Your Challenges: For clients seeking disaster relief programs, crop insurance claims, or conservation funding, clear records of 2024 losses and 2025 planning efforts are key.

• Evaluate Input ROI: Higher seed and fertilizer prices demand tighter financial analysis. We can help evaluate which investments will actually boost value—and which may need to be scaled back or delayed.

At AgValue Consulting, we’re not just watching trends—we’re helping clients adapt to them. Our deep experience in agricultural valuations across the Southeast means we understand not only what’s happening, but what it means for your operation’s worth and long-term viability.

If you need help assessing how 2024’s challenges and 2025’s forecast will impact your property or operation, contact us today.

As agricultural appraisers and consultants, we view these developments through a lens of value generation and long-term impact. Here’s why these loans matter—and what they might mean for your land or ag operation.

🏗️ Infrastructure Loans Increase Long-Term Property Value

The AILP supports construction and capital projects that go far beyond short-term fixes. Permanent farm structures—such as barns, grain bins, dairy parlors, and poultry houses—are key drivers of a farm’s use value and productivity profile. These additions are typically capitalized into land valuations, boosting both collateral strength for lenders and sale value for property owners.

For appraisers, it’s critical to recognize these improvements during site inspections and account for them in cost and income approaches.

🌱 Support for Beginning Farmers Influences Land Demand

The BFLP fuels opportunity for young producers to enter or expand within agriculture—a trend that’s been vital in offsetting the sector’s aging demographics. As beginning farmers gain access to capital, we often see increased demand for farmland, working capital, and equipment—especially in areas where land is still relatively affordable.

These dynamics tend to raise competition and valuations in counties where programs like BFLP are active—such as Gallatin, Grayson, Hart, and Trigg Counties, all of which received loan funding in this round.

📊 Loan Activity = Market Confidence

Thirteen loans might not sound like much at first glance, but they represent real economic motion. When farmers are building infrastructure and young producers are expanding into ownership roles, it reflects confidence in agricultural profitability—even amid market uncertainties.

In counties like Graves, Calloway, and Washington—where multiple loans were approved—we expect to see ripple effects in land sales, rental rates, and equipment investment, which influence not only appraisals but also farm succession plans and lender activity.

Farmers like Brent Griggs in Gibson County are turning more acres over to corn this year due to a combination of improved early-season planting conditions, rotational strategy, and corn’s comparative economic advantage over soybeans and wheat. Although corn prices aren’t ideal, they still offer better yield potential and price performance than competing crops in 2025, especially considering weather-related issues that suppressed corn planting in 2024.

For many producers, this strategic pivot is about maximizing return per acre under persistent market volatility. And while Griggs’ story is rooted in West Tennessee, the decision-making patterns he describes reflect a broader agricultural trend we’re tracking across the Southeast.

While Brood XIV cicadas don’t harm humans or animals, they do lay eggs in small branches of trees and woody plants. For many landowners, that creates concern, particularly in operations with:

• Young fruit orchards

• Nut trees

• Vineyards and ornamental nurseries

• High-value landscaping operations

UK entomologist Jonathan Larson notes that the egg-laying process can cause branches to splinter and die back—this is especially true in young or recently planted trees. While the damage is rarely fatal to a tree, it can slow growth, impact yields, and in cases where aesthetics or branch formation are critical (as in vineyards or nursery trees), the damage can affect marketability and operational income.

For property owners with investments in specialty crops or orchards, this could affect year-end cash flow projections—which are often a component in income-based farm valuation models.

On Monday, Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures climbed by 10-3/4 cents to $5.47-1/4 per bushel. Analysts link this uptick to heightened fears that Ukraine’s ability to produce and transport wheat could be further compromised as the conflict escalates. The Black Sea region, which accounts for a significant share of global wheat exports, faces increasing instability, which traders worry could limit supply and drive prices higher worldwide.

Soybean and corn futures also saw gains, with soybean prices closing up 11-1/4 cents and corn rising by 5-1/4 cents per bushel. These increases were partially attributed to technical buying and wheat’s rally, demonstrating how interconnected global agricultural markets are.

The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act is packed with provisions aimed at supporting farmers and rural communities:

1. Enhanced Farm Safety Nets
   The bill allocates $20 billion to strengthen farm safety net programs, with reference prices for covered commodities increasing by 5-15%. These adjustments aim to stabilize farm income amidst fluctuating market conditions, offering much-needed predictability for agricultural operations.

2. Trade and Market Promotion
   With $2.5 billion earmarked for USDA trade promotion over the next decade, the bill supports initiatives to enhance market access for U.S. agricultural products, particularly through safeguarding common food product names like “parmesan” and “bologna.”

3. Support for New Farmers
   By expanding credit options and removing the cap on years farmers can access USDA direct loans, the bill seeks to nurture the next generation of farmers, ensuring continued agricultural production and innovation.

4. SNAP and Nutrition Funding
   The proposal maintains the reevaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan every five years, ensuring that SNAP benefits align with current economic realities. This provision has been a sticking point, with partisan disagreements over its fiscal implications.

Tariffs are taxes imposed on imported goods, ostensibly designed to protect domestic industries by making foreign products more expensive. Proponents, including President-elect Trump, argue that tariffs can bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., reduce the federal deficit, and even lower food prices. Trump’s campaign promises to impose a 10% tariff on all imported goods and a 60% tariff on Chinese goods aim to reshape trade dynamics. However, critics warn that the ripple effects of such measures could lead to trade retaliation, higher costs for consumers, and disruptions in global supply chains.

Cotton crops in South Carolina have taken a significant hit due to Hurricane Helene. According to Michael Jones, a Clemson Cooperative Extension cotton specialist, much of the cotton in South Carolina had open bolls when the storm hit. This is a critical period for cotton, as the fiber quality and weight are optimal the day the boll opens. However, exposure to water from storms can degrade the fiber quality, while strong winds can blow lint to the ground, making the harvest difficult or even impossible.

Farmers who were on the verge of defoliating their cotton are now facing substantial losses. Wet ground conditions further complicate the situation, as heavy equipment needed for the harvest becomes difficult to operate in soaked fields. Given that the USDA reported 225,000 acres of cotton planted in 2024, up from 210,000 in 2023, the economic impact of this storm on the cotton sector will be considerable.

The $495,000 grant will fund 12 innovative projects, each addressing a unique aspect of the state’s specialty crop sector. Here’s a closer look at some of the initiatives that will be implemented with this funding:

1. Peach Orchard Health and Bacterial Spot Control
   Auburn University will explore phage technology as a sustainable alternative to copper-based products in managing bacterial spot disease in peaches. This could lead to healthier peach orchards and reduced crop damage.
   Budget: $36,975

2. Tomato Leaf Stress and Senescence
   Auburn University will investigate how different cytokinin isoforms can delay oxidative stress in tomato leaves. This could improve crop yields by extending the health of tomato plants during critical growth phases.
   Budget: $40,000

3. Strawberry Cultivation Adaptation
   In collaboration with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES), Auburn University will assist strawberry growers in adapting existing production systems to extend their growing seasons, ultimately increasing the availability of strawberries in the market.
   Budget: $40,000

4. Growing High-Value Kiwifruit for Local Markets
   This project aims to identify optimal growing practices for high-value gold-fleshed kiwifruit in Alabama, increasing their presence in local markets and schools.
   Budget: $40,000

5. Affordable Sensors for Vegetable Crop Monitoring
   Auburn University’s Department of Horticulture will validate the use of cost-effective sensors to monitor nutrient deficiencies and water stress in vegetable crops. This technology will optimize crop yields and improve overall production efficiency.
   Budget: $40,000

6. Introducing Frost-Tolerant Blueberries
   ADAI and Auburn University will partner to introduce frost-tolerant, early-ripening blueberry cultivars to the state, providing farmers with an additional high-profit specialty crop.
   Budget: $40,000

Nanotechnology involves the manipulation and application of materials at the nanoscale, typically between 1 and 100 nanometers. To put that into perspective, one nanometer is about 1/100,000th the width of a human hair. At this scale, materials exhibit unique physical and chemical properties that differ from their larger-scale counterparts, making them useful in a variety of industries, including medicine, electronics, and now agriculture.

In agriculture, nanotechnology focuses on the development of nanoscale particles known as nanocarriers, which are designed to deliver specific agents such as nutrients, pesticides, or genetic material directly to plants. These nanocarriers can navigate through plant structures, targeting specific cells or areas where they are most needed. By improving the precision and efficiency of delivery, nanotechnology aims to enhance crop growth, protect plants from disease, reduce the use of chemicals, and ultimately create a more sustainable agricultural system.

This revolutionary technology not only improves how we manage crops but also holds the potential to significantly reduce environmental impact, cutting down on waste, minimizing runoff, and ensuring that resources are used more effectively.