Indiana farmers have been hit harder than most in the Midwest by this summer's drought. But, that hasn't stopped land values from going crazy in that state in the last year, a new survey shows.
This year's rendition of the annual Purdue University survey of land values, gleaning information from almost 300 farm managers, apprasiers, land brokers and ag lenders, shows that state's land has grown in value between 14% and 18% in the last year. That's translated to cash rent increases between 12% and 15%, says Craig Dobbins, Purdue Extension ag economist who conducts the annual survey.
"Robust net farm incomes, favorable interest rates, strong farmland demand and a limited supply of farmland for sale kept Indiana farmland values and cash rents moving higher," he says.
Those increases add up to an average land value for crop land of just over $5,000/acre for land in the "poor" category -- that capable of raising 126-bushel corn -- while the top-end ground -- that able to produce 192-bushel corn -- is just over $7,700/acre.
