Watch Cash Rents for General Farmland Direction

With recent headlines about the health of the farmland market as commodity prices continue to climb, economists are taking a deeper dive to get a feel for the likelihood of double-digit year-over-year farmland value gains this year. Those gains haven’t passed 10% in Indiana, for example, since 2013, when grain prices were just beginning their decline that reversed in 2020. Between expected farm revenue and continued low interest rates, sharp valuation in the land market could happen again in 2021. One major factor to watch will be cash rent rates: Economists say in Indiana, for example, cash rent per bushel of corn yield has been declining since 2013 as well after mostly rising since the late 1980s. Cash rental rates will be key numbers to watch to get a feel for how much farmland values will climb through 2021 and beyond. See more analysis.