Illinois farmland is stable

CHAMPAIGN – Stability is the key word on what’s happening with farmland values and interest rates with only a slight decline expected in 2021 cash rents.

This is the information coming from a webinar hosted by the University of Illinois and the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

The Webinar, Expectations for 2020 Farmland Prices and 2021 Cash Rents, was a offshoot of the Mid-Year Snapshot Survey on land values typically done by the Society and released at the Farm Progress Show. Making the presentation were University of Illinois professors Gary Schnitkey, Ph.D., and Bruce Sherrick, Ph.D., and Luke Worrell, AFM, ALC, chair of the Society’s 2021 Land Values and Lease Trends Conference. Survey respondents were Society members along with others allied to the industry. It was conducted in late August.

In opening the webinar, Worrell noted here has been very little change in farmland prices across the state since January 1 While slight increases of as much as 3 percent were noted in the northeast and west central parts of the state, values across the rest of Illinois have remained static. The average price for Excellent Quality farmland across the state was $10,313.

The same trend was true with Good Quality land with some increases as much as 2.2 percent across the northern half of the state and decreases as low as 2.1 percent across the southern counties. The exception was the east central area which saw an increase of 4.5 percent since the first of the year. The average paid for Good farmland was $8,233.

Across the state prices paid for Average Quality land was very “stable,” with the overall average being $6,350 per acre.