Farmland Value’s Declining on Lower Farm Income

The Farm Credit Administration says farmland prices continue to soften across the country, particularly in the Midwest. At a monthly meeting last week, the Farm Credit Administration Board heard a report on farmland values across the nation. The report says a third consecutive year of declining crop prices and reduced farm income is causing cropland values to soften. The decrease follows five years of double-digit price increases since 2009 for most Midwest states, with cropland values reaching record levels in 2014. The Federal Reserve Banks’ quarterly surveys of agricultural bankers found that for the fourth quarter of 2015, cropland values declined between two percent and six percent on average over the past year in the Midwest as well as in some Mountain states.