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Illinois land professional survey not optimistic on interest rates, bullish on land values

A mid-year survey of Illinois land professionals revealed a few surprising results.

During a recent FarmDoc webinar, Luke Worrell, with the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, says the number of land sales attributed to farmer financial hardship is one.

“According to respondents, and these are people who are in the business, 3% were involved in a sale tied to farmers’ financial difficulties.”  He says, “Last year when we did this, that was 11%. I think if you would have asked us last year, we would have predicted that almost would be higher.”

He says the industry’s outlook on interest rates also stands out.

“Last year at our mid-year, 76% expected lower interest rates, 71% this year do not.”  He says, “Our responders have completely flipped. We pretty much do not expect lower rates.”

Worrell says 46% of respondents believe farmland prices will be higher in two years, which is more optimistic than the past several mid-year surveys.