Chicago Fed: Farm Values Increase in 2025

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Last month, this blog wrote about a report by the Kansas City Fed that noted the surprising strength in agricultural land values, given the weak credit conditions in the farm sector. Now, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is out with a similar study. In its February 2026 AgLetter, the Chicago Fed’s economists found that agricultural land values in the 7th Federal Reserve District increased 6% in 2025, after declining slightly in 2024. At the same time, they found that agricultural credit conditions continued to decline in 2025, with 5.6% of loans “having major or severe repayment problems” in 4Q2025, the highest such figure since 2Q2020, according to the Chicago Fed economists. Of the five states that comprise the 7th district, Wisconsin and Indiana posted the largest agricultural land value increases in 2025.

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