Farmland values conference March 23

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — What’s happening with farmland values and lease rates will be the topics of discussion at the 2023 Illinois Farmland Values Conference on March 23.

The event is sponsored by the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington.

“We’ll be looking at what happened to land values in 2022, the impact of higher interest rates and the fact that our assumptions from last year’s conference were correct. We have continued to see a sharp rise in land values,” said Luke Worrell, principal at Worrell Land Services, Jacksonville, and overall chair of the annual ISPFMRA event.

“While certain pockets of Illinois experienced more strength than others, in general, Illinois land was up across the board. To find out how much and where, you’ll need to hear the complete report and look at the 2023 Illinois Land Values and Lease Trends Report.”

This report, produced annually, has information on land sales and trends for 2022 broken down into 10 geographic areas of the state.

“Everyone attending gets a free copy of the report,” Worrell said.

Copies are available for purchase and can be ordered at the organization’s website www.ispfmra.org.

The program will get underway at 8 a.m. and conclude by 11:45 a.m. The keynote speaker for the meeting will be David Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech. His topic will be “Macroeconomic Mega Trends.”

Also on the morning program will be University of Illinois professors Bruce Sherrick and Gary Schnitkey, as well as Worrell.

They will look more closely at influences on land sales, outside influences on prices being paid, who’s buying and selling, and what to look for in terms of “crystal balling” the future of land values and lease and rent rates.

Advance registration is not required, but is requested. Registration information is available at www.ispfmra.org.