Planting across parts of the Midwest is running behind typical timelines as farmers wait for fields to dry, with reports from Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois showing slower starts compared with this time last year. Several managers say planting progress in Iowa and Illinois is roughly 30% behind where it was at the same point last season, leaving many producers holding off until soils firm up. Machinery and planter rollout will accelerate as conditions improve, but timing remains uneven across counties.
This spring brought acute wildfire and drought impacts to ranch and pastureland in the Plains. Hot, dry, windy conditions burned more than 800,000 acres of pasture in the Nebraska Sandhills, and Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas also logged significant rangeland fires that have disrupted grazing plans. Those losses have put many ranchers in a difficult position as they begin the 2026 grazing season and weigh feed and restocking choices.
Global disruptions are also affecting farm input costs and market sentiment. Conflict in the Middle East and heightened attention on the Strait of Hormuz pushed energy and fertilizer markets higher before prices eased; diesel has climbed sharply since late February and fertilizer quotes have moved upward. Diesel +46% and Urea +35% are two of the concrete pressures cited by industry sources, and trade groups report that about 40% of growers had not yet fully secured nitrogen and phosphate inputs for 2026.
Farmland values hold
Despite those economic and weather stresses, high-quality tillable land values in parts of the Midwest remain strong. Several tracts in southern Minnesota sold in the past month above $12,000 per acre, a level investors and well-capitalized farmers have been willing to pay for productive ground. That buyer base — producers who prepaid inputs at lower prices and owners with substantial equity — is helping sustain a market floor for premium cropland.
Recent county sale reports compiled by Hertz Farm Management show a wide price range tied to productivity. Nobles County recorded a sale at $14,835 per acre (about $15,655 per tillable acre) on land with a CPI of 97, while high-productivity tracts in Faribault and Watonwan counties sold in the $12,200–$12,650 per-acre band with CPIs in the mid-90s. At the other end, a larger parcel in Kittson County traded near $5,120 per acre with a CPI around 52, illustrating how soil productivity and location drive price variance.
Market pressure will continue to separate operators: some smaller or highly leveraged farms face significant strain and potential exits, while others with prepaid inputs and equity are positioned to hold or acquire land. Investor interest in farmland as a long-term asset also remains part of demand. Hertz Farm Management compiled the sale list but did not handle all transactions; interested parties can contact Hertz at 507-345-5263 or visit visithertz.ag.
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