The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago released its quarterly “Ag Letter,” showing that the district saw a strong annual increase of 12 percent in farmland values during 2022. The Fed says although the result may seem like a letdown after the even larger increase in 2021, last year’s annual gain was the second-largest in the past ten years. During the final quarter of 2022, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin still had double-digit year-over-year increases in their agricultural land values. But Indiana was the only District state to have an increase larger than the fourth quarter of 2021. Stronger agricultural credit conditions for the District also contributed to farmers’ optimism. The share of the District’s farm loan portfolio assessed as having “major” or “severe” repayment problems was 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, lower than the share reported in any final quarter since data collection began in 1998.