By: NATHAN STUEDLE
Farmland values across the Central Corn Belt were unchanged during the second quarter compared with a year earlier, marking the slowest annual growth since late 2024. A Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago survey of agricultural lenders found no quarter-to-quarter change in the value of good farmland across Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. Illinois and Iowa posted annual gains, while Indiana and Wisconsin declined.
After adjusting for inflation, district farmland values fell 3.7 percent from a year ago, the largest real decline since 2016. Most agricultural lenders expect values to remain stable during the third quarter, while 43 percent described farmland as overvalued. Investment demand tied to data centers and renewable energy projects has helped support prices, but farm credit conditions weakened as repayment problems increased and loan demand remained unusually high.