Indiana farmland values continue climbing

Despite scenes of cornstalks with dry, yellow leaves and cracked ground that covered much of the agricultural landscape, the drought brought corn and soybean prices to all-time highs. That offset lower yields and farmland values benefited, said Purdue University agronomist Craig Dobbins.

Across the state, farmland values rose between 14.7 and 19.1 percent, according to the latest Purdue Farmland Value Survey. An acre of top-quality land in west-central Indiana — which produces an average of 202 corn bushels per acre — is valued at nearly $11,000.