The value of Midwestern farmland is up...

The value of Midwestern farmland is up about 7% from depressed 1986 levels but still is little more than half what it was seven years ago, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said. The bank’s survey of 500 agricultural bankers shows that values rose 3.2% during the past three months of 1987--the fourth consecutive quarterly increase. “The reversal last year of the long down trend in farmland values stems largely from the improving income trend of the sector,” said Peter Heffernan, an analyst for the Chicago bank. Net farm income in 1987 rose 20% from the previous year, Heffernan said.