The newly issued Agricultural Appraisal Guidelines from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) represent the first set of comprehensive industry guidelines developed to meet the demanding reporting needs of institutional investors, the Appraisal Institute (AI) reported on its website.

Developed by members of the NCREIF Farmland Committee, with input from several appraisal organizations, including AI and the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA), the Agricultural Appraisal Guidelines have been approved for publication by the NCREIF Board of Directors. 

The guidelines are intended to provide a clearly defined set of standards for appraisers that perform farmland appraisals on properties that are managed or owned by contributing members of the NCREIF Farmland Index. These guidelines are not intended to replace any current appraisal requirements such as the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, (USPAP) or any local or national licensing or valuation requirements, the release said.

Instead, these guidelines are intended to create consistency and clarity in the appraisal reports of properties that are included in the NCREIF Farmland Index. 

“Many hours have been dedicated by multiple members of our committee to develop these guidelines,” Farmland Portfolio U.S. State Pension Fund Manager and NCREIF Farmland Committee Chairman Rich Matheson said in the release. “The primary goals are to assist the agricultural appraisal community by clarifying the content, analyses, and data that institutional investors need, as well as help further the growing demand for the agriculture asset class.”

You can find the guidelines at www.ncreif.org/globalassets/member-site/knowledge-base/manuals/ncreif-farmland-index-appraisal-guidelines-2019.pdf.