AgLetter: May 2007
The year-over-year change in Seventh Federal Reserve
District farmland values edged up to 10 percent in the
first quarter of 2007, and cash rental rates for farmland
surged upward. A survey of 275 bankers in the Seventh
District on April 1, 2007, showed a quarterly increase of
5 percent in the value of “good” agricultural land for the
District. Over half of the bankers expect land values to
increase in the April–June period. Furthermore, over half
of the respondents reported that the demand to purchase
farmland was higher over the winter than a year ago. The
share purchased by farmers increased slightly, even as
the amount of farmland sold (and on the market) rose.