US farmland values steady

Prices for prime crop land in the central Corn Belt held up better than other regions in the first quarter, but the outlook for low grain prices looked likely to pressure land values and farm incomes further in coming months, according to Federal Reserve quarterly surveys of farm bankers issued on Thursday.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported an average rise of 1 percent in the value of prime farmland in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the prior three months, with values holding steady from a year ago. But it said a jump in farmland values in the dairy state of Wisconsin masked declines in values in the big crop states of Illinois, Indiana and especially Iowa.
“Just over half of the responding bankers expected farmland values to be stable during the second quarter of 2015, but nearly all of the rest expected farmland values to head lower,” the Chicago Fed said in its survey of 234 bankers.