A new Purdue study says the value of Indiana farmland is down more than five percent from last year. The study says values haven’t dipped this low since 2012.
Purdue University Agricultural Economics Professor Craig Dobbins is one of the study’s authors. He points to declining net farm incomes as a primary cause of the decline.
"At their current levels of price and levels of cash rents there isn’t enough net income to support things where they’re at," he says. "So we’re slowly making an adjustment downward."
Dobbins says weather and the ongoing trade dispute with China are also causing the slump in prices. However, he says land values tend to be cyclical and believes they will eventually increase when farm incomes see a bump.
While the news might be bad for farmland owners, Dobbins says there is a silver lining. Farmers who rent, will likely have lower payments.
