PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - A new report from the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers has found that farmland prices in the state saw a significant decline last year.
The group's annual farmland value report shows that agriculture acreage across Illinois dropped between 8 and 9 percent in 2015. The report found that land rated "excellent" and land rated "good" saw an 8 percent decline, while land rated "average" saw a 9 percent decline.
David Klein, the group's general co-chairman says the recent decline represents a natural self-correction of the market after nearly two decades of increasing farmland values.
Klein says farmland value in 2016 will largely depend on commodity prices.
