Terrain’s Take: How Long Can Midwest Farmland Values Hold?

You asked, we answered. In Terrain’s Take videos, Terrain analysts take on Farm Credit producers’ most popular questions. How Long Can Farmland Values Hold? October 2024 So far this year, farmland values across the Midwest have flattened or slightly appreciated, on average, according to Terrain’s senior rural economy analyst, Matt Clark. But a lot of that varies by soil quality. “We have seen in many parts — particularly areas that are more wheat- and milo-dominated versus corn- and soybean-dominated — we’ve seen the poor, very marginal-quality soils start to decline in value,” Matt says. “However, in your very high-quality soils, particularly more in that corn and soybean country where they’ve had years of good farm income, we haven’t seen a decline in value. In some cases, farmland values are still appreciating.” He adds, “If you think about it from the historical cycle, we are probably towards the end of that rapid rise in appreciation and a general flattening out.” In his outlook for farmland values for the rest of this year and into 2025, Matt identifies farm income and interest rates as two factors likely to shape the trajectory of values.