Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has put Michigan’s farm real estate value at about $6,800 per acre in 2025, a 7.8% increase from 2024 and the highest percentage increase in the country.
Bill Knudson, an agricultural economist at Michigan State University's Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, said for the past 25 years farmland has been a good investment, and both the price of farmland and rental rates have gone up. He said the trend is nationwide.
“You're getting a good combination of increased value plus an increased income flow in the form of farm rents,” Knudson said. “As a result, not just farmers, but institutional investors as well, have shown a strong interest in farmland.”
Knudson said housing and development pressure, particularly in western Michigan, are other factors leading to increased prices of farmland.
The competitive market between farmers is another factor in price increases. “Some farmers are worried that farmland might come up for sale once every 20 or 30 years,” Knudson said. “So they want to be sure that they have a chance to buy that farmland before somebody else does.”
Knudson said prices are increasing most in the Thumb area of the state, including Huron, Tuscola, and Sanilac counties. He said it’s because that's where the highest value farmland is in terms of productivity. Michigan produces primarily corn, soybeans, wheat, and dry beans in the area.
Knudson added that these prices can help build farmer wealth if they own and sell their land. “Even though farmers are facing declining prices and incomes, high farmland values tend to keep their balance sheets in good shape,” he said.
The recent data center boom in Michigan could also impact land values in townships and individual counties, Knudson continued. But he said it depends on how many are built. “If they build 10 or 15, it's not going to have that big of an impact statewide.”
