According to results from Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ISPFMRA) annual survey (see the Land Values report from the Illinois Society), cash rents on professional managed farmland held strong in 2026 and are anticipated to maintain the strength into 2027. Even though farmland price expectations have softened(see farmdoc daily article on April 7, 2026), the rental market remains strong.

2025 Leasing Incomes

Setting the stage for current market behavior requires a look at the actual earnings landlords generated during the 2025 crop year. The ISPFMRA survey defined average income as total gross revenue minus all associated expenses, including standard property tax deductions. The analysis compared three primary lease structures: share rent agreements, traditional cash rent leases, and custom farming contracts.

As shown in Table 1, which compares incomes between 2024 and 2025, landowners engaged in custom farming on Excellent quality soils generated the most substantial financial yield at $375 per acre in 2025. This return effectively compensated those landowners who assumed full liability for all crop-related expenditures and operational uncertainties. In comparison, landowners employing cash rent lease structures on identical soil quality obtained an average return of $300 per acre in 2025, while traditional crop share leases achieved an average return of $250 per acre.

Comparing the 2025 figures directly to 2024 reveals distinct shifts within specific lease structures. Landlord incomes from cash-rented fields experienced a decrease from 2024 to 2025 across the three highest productivity categories. Specifically, returns on Excellent quality cash-rented land fell by $25 per acre from 2024 levels, while Good quality land saw a $10 per acre reduction.

Conversely, traditional crop share returns experienced upward adjustments across the top three productivity classes over the same period. This increase in crop share returns is largely attributable to slight reductions in input costs coupled with strong crop yields during the 2024 to 2025 period. Consequently, landlords engaged in agreements that share both revenues and costs directly benefited from these favorable production and expenditure dynamics.

Reported 2026 Cash Rent by Land Quality

Even with the modest declines in realized 2025 landlord incomes, negotiated cash rental rates for the 2026 growing season have remained exceptionally strong. The survey data breaks down these expectations by soil productivity, revealing that while statewide averages are holding firm, there is considerable variance in what operators are ultimately paying, even for land of identical quality.

For Excellent quality farmland, the middle third of cash leases is expected to average $375 per acre in 2026. However, agreements in the upper third of the market are reaching $400 per acre, whereas the lower third averages around $320 per acre. This $80-per-acre spread highlights the substantial variability inherent within specific land quality classes, largely driven by localized supply constraints and intense competition among operators for premium acreage. Moving down the scale, the middle tier of Good quality land has an average of $325 per acre. Average quality soils sit at a reported $273 per acre, and Fair quality land averages $200 per acre. (See Table 2).

Figure 1 illustrates the history of cash rents for middle one-third leases over the past decade to provide context for the reported 2026 rates. As shown, cash rents remained relatively flat from 2016 through 2021 before increasing significantly to reach a peak in 2023. Following the 2023 highs, cash rents experienced a period of moderate decline. However, heading into the 2026 crop year, the survey data indicates stabilization of the market, with slight increases observed for higher-productivity land classes.

Average cash rental rates from 2025 to 2026 showed marginal gains across the upper three productivity classes. While the Excellent category’s 2026 median rent of $375 per acre represented a $5 increase over its 2025 level of $370, the median rent for Good quality acreage climbed by $25, shifting from $300 to $325 per acre. Similarly, Average quality land experienced a $13 per acre elevation, rising from $260 to $273 per acre. Fair quality acreage was the only class to observe a slight downturn, dropping $5 from $205 to $200 per acre. Furthermore, for landowners managing grazing operations, respondents noted that pastureland equipped with sufficient fencing and water infrastructure secured an average rental rate of $43 per acre.

Expectations for 2027

As for the agricultural economy, a majority of agricultural managers anticipate that the farm economy will either maintain its current trajectory or become better conditions in 2026. Specifically, 48 percent of respondents expect economic conditions in 2026 to closely mirror those experienced in 2025, while 33 percent forecast an improvement in the agricultural business climate.

This cautious optimism translates directly into the outlook for the 2027 leasing. According to recent survey data, industry professionals predominantly anticipate sustained rate stability or slight growth. A significant 67 percent of farm managers expect 2027 cash rental rates to remain unchanged from 2026 levels. Nine percent of respondents anticipate further rate escalations. In contrast, 24 percent of respondents project a potential softening with expectations that 2027 rates will fall below the 2026 baselines.

Summary

Results from the ISPFMRA survey indicate a stable farmland leasing environment in Illinois. While landlord net returns under cash rent agreements experienced slight compression from 2024 to 2025, reported 2026 cash rents remained resilient with marginal increases observed on highly productive land. Traditional cash rent structures remain the dominant leasing methods, and survey respondents expect these valuation plateaus to persist through the 2027 crop year.

KENDALL COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) — A massive fire destroyed a home Sunday in the southwest suburbs.

The homeowner said he was in the shower when the fire broke out in his detached garage, which set off a series of explosions before it burned to the ground.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

The southwest suburban homeowner captured video and images of massive flames burning through his detached garage Sunday afternoon.

The fire broke near River Oaks Drive and Route 71 in Kendall County, near the border of Yorkville and Oswego.

The homeowner told ABC7 people working on his detached garage first spotted the flames and then he called for help. The fire grew quickly and burned for hours.

The heat was so intense that it melted parts of his attached garage, a few feet away.

The homeowner said at one point firefighters had limited access to water, and that winds appeared be a major challenge for firefighters. He says he was grateful the winds didn’t shift the flames towards his home.

However, his detached garage, along with everything inside, is now a complete loss. The homeowner estimates hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

The good news is no one was injured in this fire, including all of his animals.

To be clear, nobody is expecting a player to come into the Illinois basketball program and own the campus as Keaton Wagler did. Nobody is actually “replacing” Keaton Wagler.

His one-and-only season for the Illini is the stuff of legend. Hopefully, you appreciated him thoroughly while he wore the Orange and Blue.

Wagler’s number will be in the rafters, and his name will be on the lips of Illinois fans for generations.

His name will also be uttered frequently on the recruiting trail. Both prep and transfer portal prospects can see the benefits of following in Wagler’s Nike sneakers in Champaign.

While John Blackwell is the most well-known pursuit for an Illini program casting a narrow net in the transfer portal, Providence guard Stefan Vaaks is a name that keeps surfacing.

Vaaks is a name that immediately made sense to Illini observers. The 6-foot-7 Baltic guard averaged 15.8 points per game for Providence as a true freshman. With three years of eligibility remaining, he has a high ceiling as both a sniper and a facilitator.

His positional size and skill set make him a natural fit to fill the Wagler-sized hole in the Illini backcourt. 

Vaaks shot 35% from behind the three-point arc in his lone season with the Friars. While that number doesn’t “wow” like Paul McNeil Jr., it does show his ability to score from deep. 

Vaaks was the focal point of the Friars’ offense. He had a 31% usage rate last season. For context, Wagler had a 28.5% usage rate. He showed an ability to dominate the ball and fill it up.

I encourage you to take three-and-a-half minutes of your day to watch this video. You will see many Brad Underwood-friendly, useful traits.

• He has a lightning-quick release
• He can make the shots Underwood calls “gold medal” shots. As evidence, he shot 40% on catch-and-shoot opportunities.
• He has excellent positional size
• He excels in opportunities to space the floor

If Illinois lands both Vaaks and John Blackwell, that would give Illinois two guards who can score, space the floor, and create opportunities for teammates.

Even traditional Illinois rage baiters see the fit.

Illinois basketball will provide Stefan Vaaks the support he was missing at his last stop

Vaaks didn’t have the best shot selection last season. But in fairness, he often was going one-on-three on drives to the basket due to the lack of quality teammates.

If the Balkan retention follows the optimistic vibes of recent days, Vaaks won’t have that problem. He will have other floor-spacers and playmakers to share the court with.

It’s a rational refrain when thinking about Illinois transfer portal targets. “Put that guy on a talented, loaded Illinois team, and he will be more efficient.”

The heat has been turned up on this recruitment. Vaaks is the kind of player blue bloods close on early in transfer portal season. If you close your eyes, you can likely picture him in a UConn jersey.

Illinois is recruiting like a team that belongs on the same stage as the nation’s elite programs. If Underwood and his staff of closers can get Blackwell and Vaaks to sign on the line that is dotted, they can have all the coffee they want. 

And perhaps they’ll be enjoying that coffee in Detroit.