Il Farmland Values Up 18%

According to report released by the USDA, Illinois farmland price averaged $5,800 per acre in 2011, an increase of 18% over the 2010 level of $4,900. The 2011 increase continues a string of large increases that began in 2004.

Since 2004, Illinois farmland prices have increased by 222% or, stated alternatively, Illinois farmland prices are 2.2 times higher in 2011 than in 2004. The last seven-year period in which land prices increased an equivalent amount was from 1975 through 1981. During this period, Illinois farmland increased from $846 per acre in 1975 to $2,188 per acre in 1981, resulting in farmland prices being 2.6 times higher in 1981 than in 1975. ◆