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Agriculture is an ever-changing endeavor. Whether it's
fluctuating commodity markets, changes in input prices, or
uncertainties in government regulation, nothing in agriculture
is ever static. This is especially true for land and land
values. Land is one of the most important resources for
agricultural production, and its value can vary depending on its
productivity, location, and other factors. Every year, the
Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural
Appraisers (ISPFMRA) releases the
Illinois Farmland Values and Lease Trends Report that breaks
down trends in land values across Illinois. The report compiles
data from land sales during the previous year to provide an
understanding of how land values have changed over time. By
dividing the state into ten regions, the report can further show
the differences across the entire state. This blog post will
examine changes in Logan, Menard, and Sangamon counties from the
2025 to the 2026 report, as well as statewide changes in cash
rents and lease trends.
Before getting into the data from the 2025 and 2026 reports, a
brief note on how the ISPFMRA breaks down the state and land
quality. To provide regional comparisons, the ISPFMRA divides
the state into ten regions. Logan County is in Region Six along
with Christian, DeWitt, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, and Shelby
counties. Menard and Sangamon counties are in Region Seven,
along with Calhoun, Cass, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery,
Morgan, and Scott counties. Each region has its own section in
the report, which breaks down land sales across the five main
land categories: excellent, good, average, fair, and
recreational. Each class (except for recreational) is determined
by a range of the productivity index (PI) of the tillable acres
in a parcel of land. Fair land has a PI less than 100; average
land is between 100 and 116; good land is between 117 and 132;
excellent land is between 133 and 147. Recreational tracts have
few tillable acres and are usually reserved for hunting,
fishing, or other activities. The report also includes
transitional tracts, defined as having strong potential for
commercial or residential development within a few years. Other
regions may also report different types of land based on
available data for that region. It is also important to note
that, although released in early April, the 2026 report includes
data from 2025.
Logan County and Region Six
With an understanding of how the report is organized, we can now
begin to look at the changes from the 2025 to the 2026 report.
Starting with sales of excellent productivity land, the 2025
report recorded 16 total sales in Logan County. Across those 16
sales, the average number of acres was approximately 118, with
96.5% of those acres tillable, a PI of 139.9, and an average
sale price of $16,689 per acre. In the 2026 report, there were
only seven excellent land sales in Logan County, with an average
size of 153 acres, 97.9% of which were tillable, an average PI
of 139.2, and an average sale price of $16,269 per acre. There
were 129 excellent land sales in Region Six, with an average
tillable percentage of 97%, PI of 139.4, and an average sale
price of $15,975. The 2026 report did not have any sales of
good, fair, or recreational tracts in Logan County.
The existing cash rent rates for each region and land class are
reported as the lower 1/3, middle 1/3, and higher 1/3. For this
post, I will focus on the middle 1/3. In the 2026 report, the
middle 1/3 cash rent for excellent land was $400 per acre, good
was $350 per acre, average was $285 per acre, and fair was $240
per acre. Looking at new cash rent rates across each class in
the 2026 report, the rate for excellent land is $425 per acre,
good land is $375 per acre, average land is $295 per acre, and
fair land is $255 per acre. Across all classes of land, the
types of leases for newly negotiated lease agreements were 75%
flexible/variable cash rent, 10% traditional cash rent, 10% crop
share, and 5% other.
Menard and Sangamon Counties plus Region Seven
In the 2025 report, only one sale of excellent land occurred in
Menard County. Approximately 38.5 acres, all tillable, with a PI
of 135.5, was sold for $15,300 per acre. There were two
excellent land sales in Menard County in the 2026 report; the
average number of acres sold was approximately 57, with an
average tillable of 97.5% and, a PI of 137.4, and an average
sale price of $14,850 per acre. There were no sales of good,
average, fair, or recreational land in Menard County in the 2026
report.
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There were only four sales of excellent land in Sangamon County
in the 2025 report. The average number of acres sold was 76,
with a 98% tillable and a PI of 141.3; the average sale price
was $19,650 per acre. The number of excellent land sales in the
2026 report increased to six. The average number of acres sold
was 131, with a 97% tillable rate and a PI of 140. The average
sale price was $17,158. Like in Menard County, there were no
reported sales of good, average, fair, or recreational land in
Sangamon County in the 2026 report.
The middle 1/3 of existing cash rents in region Seven in the
2026 report were $383 per acre for excellent land, $351 per acre
for good land, $275 per acre for average land, $225 per acre for
fair land, and $75 per acre for pastureland. For new cash rent
agreements, the rates are $425 per acre for excellent land, $375
per acre for good land, $300 per acre for average land, $250 per
acre for fair land, and $100 per acre for pastureland. Looking
at the type of lease for new lease agreements among excellent
and good land, 65% were flexible/variable cash rent, 20% were
traditional cash rent, 10% were crop share, and 5% were other.
For average and fair land, 50% were on flexible/variable cash
rent, 30% on traditional cash rent, 15% on crop share, and 5% on
other types of arrangements.
Statewide Leasing and Turnover Trends
In addition to county- and regional-level data, the 2026 report
also includes information on the middle 1/3 of existing cash
rents and the types of lease agreements used across Illinois.
Looking at the existing cash rents by class, excellent land is
$375 per acre, good land is $325 per acre, average land is $273
per acre, and fair land is $200 per acre. When members of the
ISPFMRA were surveyed about the types of leases used in newly
negotiated leases, 35% reported using a traditional cash rent,
27% a flexible/variable cash rent, 27% a crop share, 6% a custom
agreement, and 6% another type.
A new data point in the 2026 report analyzes the turnover rate
of farmland, in other words, how often farmland changes hands
from one owner to the next. The report includes data between
2033 to 2025. The average annual turnover rate in that time was
1.56%, which correlates to a piece of land being held by one
owner for approximately 64 years. Only in 2003, 2004, and 2021
was the turnover rate above 2%. The average turnover rate in
Logan County was 1.5%; in Menard and Sangamon counties, it was
1.4%. The counties with the highest average rate were Hardin
(3.4%), Pope (3.2%), Alexander (3.1%), Champaign and Pike (3%),
Brown (2.8%), Cook (2.7%), Calhoun 2.6%), and Schulyer (2.5%).
The counties with the lowest turnover rates were DuPage (0.2%),
Richland (0.5%), White (0.6%), Effingham and Williamson (0.7%),
Clinton, Washington, and Randolph (0.8%), Madison, Monroe, and
Perry (0.9%).
Farmland markets and values in Illinois and across the Midwest
have gone through several high and low points over the last few
years. The current economic conditions of agricultural producers
make the future trend in these values even more uncertain.
According to a survey of ISPFMRA members, 50% expect a decrease
of up to 5% in farmland values, 25% expect values to stay the
same, 14% expect an increase of up to 5%, and 11% expect a
decrease of 5% to 10%. Many factors could influence this,
including the number of farmers retiring and putting their land
up for sale, input costs, commodity prices, shifts in lease
arrangements, and more.
[Reagen Tibbs,
Commercial Agriculture Educator, University of Illinois
Extension]
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