By Andi Anderson
Indiana farmland prices continued their upward climb in 2025, setting new records according to the latest Purdue Farmland Values and Cash Rents Survey.
Conducted by Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural Economics, the annual survey compiles estimates from farm managers, land brokers, agricultural loan officers, appraisers, farmers, and Farm Service Agency county directors.
The report found that top-quality farmland averaged $14,826 per acre, a 3 percent increase from June 2024. Average-quality land rose 5.4 percent to $12,254 per acre, while poor-quality farmland gained 7.6 percent to reach $9,761 per acre. These gains mark another year of record statewide prices.
“Farmland prices increased modestly in 2025 at the state level and across the northern two-thirds of the state,” said Todd Kuethe, Schrader Endowed Chair in Farmland Economics at Purdue and the survey’s author. “However, farmland prices declined by varying degrees in the southern third of the state.” The southwest and southeast regions experienced declines of 4.6 to 11.3 percent depending on land quality.
Survey respondents expect modest price increases across most of Indiana through the rest of 2025, but predict continued declines in the southern regions.
The report notes that farmland in the south dropped in value during the second half of 2024 but partially rebounded in early 2025, leaving overall gains still below earlier losses.
Land transitioning out of agricultural use fell slightly in value by 5.3 percent. Cash rental rates showed minimal changes statewide, reflecting the broader trends in land prices and demand.
The Purdue Farmland Values and Cash Rents Survey is conducted each June and published in the Purdue Agricultural Economics Report, offering farmers, investors, and rural appraisers an annual snapshot of Indiana’s land market and its evolving regional differences.
Photo Credit: getty-images-elhenyo
Categories: Indiana, General