AgLetter: May 2002
Farmland prices in the Seventh Federal Reserve District increased
a little more rapidly in the first quarter of 2002 than
has been the case since mid-1998. Based on the Chicago
Fed’s end-of-first quarter Land Value and Credit Conditions
Survey, prices for “good” farmland rose, on average, a little
less than 3 percent between January 1, 2002, and April 1,
2002. In addition, data from 381 agricultural bankers indicated
that farmland prices rose nearly 6 percent, on average,
relative to a year ago. By comparison, the end-of-first-quarter
2001 Survey reported farmland prices were up about 4
percent from a year earlier.