The value of farmland was one of the agricultural line items that was relatively unscathed by the tumult of the last 12 months; the land market had been under mild pressure from bearish grain markets for years, but a wholesale major decline in values never reached fruition like it did in other key ag markets. Now that grain prices have turned around — with nearby corn futures hitting new contract highs for the year on Thursday — the market has new strength. Improving credit conditions and low interest rates are contributing to what the Federal Reserve sees as a sustained general climb in land values. At the same time, loan volume in some Fed districts is increasing; that’s often a sign of economic strife, but right now, that volume is building because farmers are buying more machinery, constructing new grain storage and making other big-ticket purchases, not financing operating expenses. It’s a bullish outlook for large farm assets in 2021. See more from the Fed’s latest farmland market reporting.
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