Farmland is often the largest asset on a farm's balance sheet, making changes in land values important to farmers, landowners, lenders, and rural communities. Land values can affect farm wealth, borrowing capacity, rental negotiations, estate planning decisions, and the cost of expanding an operation. Because of their broad economic impact, farmland values are closely watched across Illinois each year. Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its annual Land Values Summary, providing updated estimates of farm real estate and cropland values across the country. Last week, a farmdoc daily article examined the Illinois results and placed them in a historical context, highlighting how farmland values have changed over time and how recent trends compare with previous periods. Together, these two publications offer valuable insights into the current state of the Illinois farmland market and provide a better understanding of how farmland values continue to evolve in a period of tighter farm margins and lower commodity prices. This post will discuss these reports and their findings, and how they are significant to producers and landowners in central Illinois.
USDA Land Values Summary Report
The USDA Land Values Summary was released on July 31 and examines trends in overall farm real estate values (which includes buildings), cropland values, and pastureland values. While state-level averages and national figures are provided, the report goes further by grouping states together into several regions. For this report, Illinois is in the “Corn Belt” region along with Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio. For this post, we will mainly look at the Corn Belt region, with occasional recognition of national figures.
The report does not give an average value of farmland and buildings for the region, only for the states in the region. Iowa ranked the highest across the five states in the region with an average value of $292,721, a 3.6% increase from 2025 and a 30% increase since 2022. Illinois ranked second in the region, with an average value of $233,073, an increase of 1.9% from 2025 and 17.8% increase from 2022. Missouri ranked third with an average value of $133,000; Indiana was fourth with an average value of $128,325; and Ohio ranked fifth with an average value of $126,225.
The average value of cropland in the region was $9,280 per acre, a 3.8% increase from 2025 and a 17.5% increase since 2022. Iowa had the highest average cropland value $10,700 per acre, a 4.9% increase from 2025 and a 21.2% increase since 2022. Illinois ranked second with an average value of $10,200 per acre, a 3.6% increase since 2025 and a 17.5% increase since 2022. Ohio ranked third with an average value of $10,100 per acre; Indiana was fourth with an average value of $8,600 per acre; and Missouri ranked fifth an average value of $5,310 per acre. The average value of pastureland in the region was $3,230 per acre, an increase of 3.5% since 2025 and 15.5% since 2022. Illinois had the highest average value for pastureland at $4,300 per acre, an increase of 2.4% since 2025 and 20.4% since 2022. Ohio ranked second with an average value of $4,250 per acre; Iowa was third with an average value of $3,800 per acre; both Indiana and Missouri were tied in fourth with an average value of $2,850 per acre.
What these numbers suggest is that, despite macroeconomic and farm-level financial conditions, farmland and farm real estate values have continued to rise. While the year-over-year increases might be moderate, the percent increases since 2022 show the real strength in these assets. Whether it be cropland, pastureland, or any type of farm real estate, these asserts have continued to increase in value over time and do not show any real sign of slowing down.
Long-Term Perspective of Illinois Farmland Values
The USDA report offers a good perspective on the recent changes and trends in farmland values, but how does this fit in with the broader historical context? A recent article from farmdoc daily looked at farm real estate values in Illinois since 1970. The data shows that the average value of farm real estate in Illinois was $490 per acre. If we put that into further perspective and account for inflation, that is equivalent to $4,329 per acre in 2026.
The article goes on to show a table of the average farm real estate values since 1970 and the percent change year-over-year. The top five increases, in terms of percentage were in 1977 (37.3%), 1974 (33.6%), 1976 (25.5%), 2005 (25.4%), and 2012 (15.2%). The top five decreases were in 1985 (25.1%), 1986 (10.8%), 1983 (9.2%), 1982 (7.5%), and 2009 (2.2%). Since 2021, the average value of farm real estate has continued to increase anywhere between 2.4% an 10.5%. The period from 2015 and 2020 saw continued decreases, anywhere from 0.4% and 1.9%.
If the current farm economic conditions are not favorable due to fluctuating market prices and high input costs, why do farmland values continue to increase? The article seems to offer some likely answers. For one, tight light supply and increased demand for farmland from outside investors has been a major influence. The basic rules of supply and demand makes sense: when there is less supply and increased demand, the price will increase. So, if more people want to buy farmland and less of it is for sale, the average value of farm real estate assets will continue to increase. Another possible explanation is the higher income from off-farm sources. Farm families continue to seek and find income sources away from the farming operation. The increase in farm household income further goes to increasing the value of farm assets. Whether the current economic conditions will affect these values moving forward remains to be seen. The USDA report and the farmdoc daily article offer important perspectives on how farmland values have changed in recent years.