AgLetter: November 1997

District farmland values continued to trend upward this summer, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s latest survey of agricultural banks. The 375 respondents indicated that, on average, the value of good farmland rose 1.6 percent during the third quarter and 7 percent during the 12 months ending in September. The third quarter rise was slightly larger than that of the previous quarter and about comparable to the average quarterly rate of increase experienced over the last three years. However, the rate of increase this summer varied considerably among the five states comprising the Seventh Federal Reserve District. The bankers from Iowa reported the largest increase, nearly 3 percent, while those from the District portion of Wisconsin reported that farmland values were essentially unchanged in the third quarter. Elsewhere, the third quarter rise approximated 1 percent in Indiana and Michigan and 2 percent in Illinois. For the 12 months ending with September, the gains ranged from 6 percent in Illinois to 8 percent in Indiana.