(NAFB.com) – The stronger land prices of late 2021 continued in the first months of 2022. Farmers National Company reports sale prices took another jump higher because of the war in Ukraine and ongoing inflation fears.

Farmers saw higher commodity prices, and investors wanted a low-risk inflation hedging investment, which propelled the competition for good cropland. Farmland values are roughly 20 percent higher than a year ago. Recent Farmers National Company auction sales demonstrate the strength in the land market so far in 2022.

In February, Farmers National Company sold six tracts of Western Indiana land comprising 550 acres for $16,600 per acre. In early March, four tracts of Eastern Illinois land totaling 320 acres sold between $19,100 to $19,700 per acre. At the end of March, a company auction saw three tracts of Central Illinois land sell for $20,500 to $21,500 per acre. In the fall of 2021, prime Illinois farmland was selling in the range of $16,000 plus per acre.