LINCOLN, Neb. -- Despite the pandemic, in fact partly because of it, the price of farm land in Nebraska has risen for the second straight year.

According to a University of Nebraska study, the average farm is now worth $2,900 per acre, a six percent jump over the year before.

Some of the increase is chalked-up to COVID-19 disaster relief payments provided to farmers and ranchers across the state.

Center-pivot cropland rose by about 8 percent, dryland crop operations increased 6 percent.

Increasing crop prices also helped pump up the numbers, according to the study.