The old saying is “what goes up, must come down,” but Illinois farmland values have yet to find a ceiling.
The 2024 Illinois Farmland Values Lease Trends Report, released by the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers in Bloomington March 21, showed the average price for all classes of farmland increased for the fourth consecutive year in 2023.
“None of us expected a roller coaster ride downward and we still don’t, but that expected plateau or softening did not happen,” Illinois Land Values Conference Chairman Luke Worrell told the RFD Radio Network. He said Class A land has increased more than 50% over the past three years.
According to the report, last year buyers paid an average of $16,779 per acre for excellent land, up 5.5% from 2022.
Good quality land averaged $12,911 (up 7%) followed by $9,198 for average land (up 13%), $7,000 for fair (up 14%) and $5,250 for recreational (up 7%). Transitional land averaged $35,000 an acre, up 22% on the year.
While overall values increased, Worrell noted that there were some regional variations. “Regions 3 and 8 experienced continued sharp increases while Regions 1 and 6 decreased, something that hadn’t occurred in a few years.”
Perhaps the biggest difference from 2022 to 2023 was a decline in the numbers of sales. “Most regions in the central portion of the state showed anywhere from 15% to 30% fewer transactions,” said Worrell of Worrell Land Services in Jacksonville. “So, values are strong, but the number of sales are down quite a bit.”
The report showed the majority of farmland transactions were estate sales (59%), followed by farmer sellers (19%), individuals (12%) and institutions (9%).
The majority of buyers (59%) were farmers. The next largest group was individual investors at 30% followed by institutions, which accounted for 6%.
While it is a good headline for landowners, continued strength in land prices isn’t great news for young and beginning farmers.
“You could argue that even in 2019, there were a ton of barriers to entry for a young farmer, if you weren’t born or married into it,” Worrell said. “I think that’s only been strengthened.”
Cash rent rates did see some moderation, however, averaging $400 per acre for 2024, down $12 from 2023. “That’s the one thing you did see steady out or maybe even go down just a bit as a whole in 2023. I think there’s a lot of downward pressure on those too,” Worrell said.
The report included data gathered from a survey of more than 70 professional farm managers and rural appraisers. Those respondents were not as optimistic for 2024 as 64% expect farmland prices to decline, 32% predict prices will stay the same and only 4% anticipate another increase.
“Most are expecting a marginal decrease, you know 1% to 5%”,” Worrell said. “But it was probably the exact same answer at this time last year. So, we’ll see.”
The full report is available for purchase online at, ispfmra.org.
