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CHICAGO – According to the most recent AgLetter, Seventh District farmland values in the first quarter of 2026 were 3% higher than a year ago. Values for “good” agricultural land in the first quarter of 2026 were 1% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2025.
In the first quarter of 2026, the Seventh Federal Reserve District’s agricultural land values saw a 3% increase from a year ago. Yet “good” farmland values dipped 1% from the fourth quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026, according to the survey responses of 104 District agricultural lenders.
Demand to purchase farmland was lower in the three- to six-month period ending with March 2026 than in the same period ending with March 2025 (11% of survey respondents reported higher demand to purchase farmland and 22% reported lower demand).
Also, the amount of farmland for sale was down during the winter and early spring of 2026 compared with a year earlier. Likewise, the number of farms and the amount of acreage sold were down in the winter and early spring of 2026 relative to a year ago.
Annual cash rental rates for District farmland saw a decrease of 3% in 2026—their second consecutive decrease after increases from 2021 through 2024.
For 2026, average annual cash rents for farmland were up 2% in Indiana, but down 1% in Illinois, 4% in Iowa, and 1% in Wisconsin (not enough survey responses were received from lenders in Michigan to report a numerical change for that state).
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
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