The Purdue University Farmland Value and Cash Rent Survey showed that Indiana farmland prices once again hit a new record in 2024. The average price of top-quality farmland is $14,392, up 4.8 percent from June 2023. Average and poor-quality farmland also hit new high prices at $11,630 and $9,071 per acre, an annual increase of 3.7 and 4.4 percent, respectively. Survey respondents suggest that the price growth mostly occurred late in 2023 and began to retreat in the first half of this year.
Respondents generally expect farmland prices to decline modestly through the remainder of this year. At the state level, prices in December 2024 are expected to remain just above those observed in June 2023. The survey finds a number of forces putting downward pressure on farmland prices, including interest rates and crop prices. While there is general pessimism about the rest of 2024, longer-term economic expectations aren’t as gloomy.
-NAFB