A survey by the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers suggests cash rents for farmland are likely to decrease in 2025. This is being driven by lower 2024 farm income, with little improvement expected in 2025.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reports the average cash rent for Illinois in 2024 was $269 per acre. This was a record for Illinois. It was an increase from $259 per acre in 2023. This pricing was driven by above-average farm returns from 2020 through 2022.

Projections place returns for high-productivity farmland in central Illinois at -$129 per acre. As a result, the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers forecast:

  • Excellent quality farmland to decrease $29 per acre from $410 per acre in 2024 to $381 in 2025.
  • Good quality farmland to decrease $25 per acre from $344 per acre in 2024 to $310 in 2025.
  • Average quality farmland to decrease $25 per acre from $278 per acre in 2024 to $253 in 2025.
  • Fair quality farmland to decrease by $23 per acre from $221 per acre in 2024 to $198 in 2025.

Read more about 2025 cash rent negotiations here.

Schnitkey, G., N. Paulson, C. Zulauf and J. Baltz. “Setting 2025 Cash Rents.” farmdoc daily (14):159, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, September 3, 2024.