Indiana farmland values declined in all three categories last year for the first time since 2009 -- but a Purdue economist says the drop was expected.
In Purdue’s latest land value survey, top-quality Hoosier farmland values dropped a little more than 5-percent in the last year.
Average farmland values decreased by nearly 4-percent, while low-quality values are down just shy of 5-percent.
But Purdue economist Michael Langemeier says he’s not surprised – revenue from crop sales have been down, which usually leads to a drop in land value.
And Langemeier says the decline could continue for as much as 3-5 years – so he says farmers should be careful about buying new assets.
“That would include machinery, buildings and land. That doesn’t mean you don’t purchase assets that you need, but you do need to be very cautious," Langemeier says.
The only area of the state in which farmland values didn’t drop is southwest Indiana, where prices for the best land are up 13-percent. Langemeier says that’s likely because of strong corn and soybean yields in the region.
