Land Values in Corn Belt Shed Three Percent

Stalling commodity prices take their toll with corn off 21 percent and soybeans down 33 percent from 2014 highs. –The Editors

MIDWEST — FOCUS
The following conclusions are based on survey responses of 221 agricultural bankers in the Seventh District.
The rally in corn and soybean prices toward the end of the second quarter may have temporarily quelled the decline in farm values. Then crop prices slid again in July.
The 3 percent year-over-year decrease in farmland values for the second quarter of 2015 could also be the flip side of the rapid gains during the past few years.
One percent of respondents expected farmland values to increase during the current quarter, while 40 percent projected them to decrease, and 59 percent projected them to stabilize.

For a complete copy of the Seventh Federal Reserve District’s AgLetter, go to www.ChicagoFed.org.