Farmland prices are expected to decrease from 1% to 5% this year, according to Illinois professional farm managers.

“I would agree with that,” said Ray Brownfield, designated managing broker for Peoples Company. “There will always be demand for farmland, but it is a long-term investment, there’s no question about that.”

Fifty percent of those that contributed to the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers’ annual land values report expected this small decline in farmland values, while 11% predicted the decrease to range from 5% to 10%.

In addition, 25% of the farm managers predict the farmland values will stay the same for the year, said Brownfield, who talked about the report during a presentation at The Chicago Farmers meeting.

In 2025, the average price of excellent farmland sold for $15,846 per acre, down 3% from the previous year, according to the report.

Good quality farmland sold for an average of $12,502 per acre, which was almost unchanged from the average in 2024.

“Look at the recreational land, it was up 11% to $6,057 per acre,” Brownfield said. “I think that is because people want to get out and enjoy the timber or a stream, so this shows there are opportunities in all land classes.”

Farmland is sold in a variety of ways with the majority by private treaty and public auction.

“Ten percent of the farmland is sold by multi-parcel auctions,” the managing broker said.

“Money available from farmers may tighten up a little bit, so I think auction sales will decrease to some degree,” said Brownfield, who has been in the farm management business for 61 years.

“And I think private treaty will increase so there is time to negotiate,” he said. “It is our job to educate what the market really is, so if you are going to sell a farm, make sure you get good guidance on what the market is telling us.”

Peoples Company provides a variety of services including land brokerage and auctions, land management, agricultural appraisals, energy management and crop insurance.

“I am really proud to be part of this group that is located throughout the United States,” Brownfield said. “They have 24 offices and 37 licenses in 37 states, including Alaska.”

The company created the FarmWorth program to assist with analyzing and managing farmland assets. FarmWorth provides a central place to track lots of farm information such as soil maps, Farm Service Agency boundaries, ownership records and energy infrastructure.

“We want to do our best job in managing or selling your property,” Brownfield said.

In 2025, very few farmers sold farmland, only 9% and 12% of the sellers were retired farmers, according to the report.

“Estate sales were 57% of the sellers,” Brownfield said.

Settling estates was the highest reason for selling farmland at 58%.

“Eleven percent of the sales were to pay down debt,” Brownfield said. “With the way the economy is now in farming, we do hear more of these sales. That is unfortunate and I think that is going to go up in 2027, unless things straighten out.”

The U.S. involvement with the war in Iran is one of many factors impacting farmers.

“About 20% of all the phosphate comes from Morocco through the Strait of Hormuz and 17% of the urea,” Brownfield said.

“In talking with the farmers that we work with, a lot of them did their buying last fall before this all began,” he said. “Anhydrous ammonia has gone from $850 to $1,200 per ton, so that makes a difference in how you farm and protect your risks.”

In the land values report, 9% of the farm managers expected cash rents to increase in 2027, while 67% thought the cash rents would stay the same from 2026 to 2027.

“I think there will be more pressure on cash rent,” Brownfield said.

For lease arrangements, the highest percentage was traditional cast rent at 35%, while both traditional crop share and variable cash rent were at 27%.

Other types of leases used by farm managers included crop share with supplemental rent, crop share with other modifications and custom farming.

“In the report, 93% of the farm managers have managed wind or solar projects, 92% expect solar projects to grow and 41% expect wind projects to increase,” Brownfield said. “We see solar growing rapidly.”

Ten percent of the farm managers reported they are involved with a data center.

“Artificial intelligence is with us forever and those data centers are collecting all that information,” Brownfield said. “That is going to increase so the development of data centers is growing all over the Midwest.”

“If you are approached by an alternative energy company, get a good attorney,” he said.

There are many issues for farmers to watch going forward in addition to the war in Iran, including tariffs and trade, changes in interest rates and the possibility of legislation that would authorize the selling of E15 gas year around.

“Let’s hope that happens,” Brownfield said. “Right now, about 33% of corn production nationally goes into ethanol, and if we could make E15 happen year around, it would be almost 50% and that would take care of quite a bit of our corn carryover.”