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New farmers staying financially informed as farmland values increase

The President of an ag credit company commends new farmers for staying informed about financial uncertainties.

Farm Credit Illinois President and CEO Aaron Johnson tells Brownfield good commodity prices and overall positivity in the industry has caused farmland values to skyrocket, with the Illinois benchmark study showing an 8.5% increase over the past year.

“In the last 90 days we have seen it come up really strong and actually now the values are at or exceeding what we saw in 2012 and 2013. That is going to put some pressure on young farmers who are trying to buy their first farm, with cash rents likely to follow.”

Johnson connects with many beginning farmers through their FreshRoots program, and the good news is, they are eager to stay one step ahead of the challenges.

“It has been fun to watch them over the last four or five years, with tighter margins, how these young and beginning farmers have really paid attention financially and learned the value of off-farm income, business plans and cash-flow. They are really sharp. I am pretty excited about the future of agriculture because this new generation of young farmers- they are on it!”

He also mentions that unlike the last couple of years, Farm Credit Illinois is expecting very few crop insurance claims this fall. Brownfield interviewed Johnson during the 2021 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, IL.