Farmland taxes in Illinois on the rise

May 24, 2016

Increase depends on land productivity

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Farmers in Illinois may notice an increase in farmland taxes as they begin receiving their tax bills.

Jessica Grammer, manager at the Jackson County Farm Bureau told the Herald & Review that the increase is based on the land’s productivity index – which determines soil quality.

Parts of Southern Illinois have a productivity index ranging from 90 to 100, which is closer to the lower end, compared to Central Illinois which has many farms in the 120s.

Taxes increasing

The Illinois Farm Bureau estimates the lowest average index is 90 (valued at about $74.73 per acre) in Johnson County, and 125 (valued at about $522.88 per acre) in DeWitt and Piatt counties.

Ron Ellis, a Williamson County Commissioner told the Herald & Review that based on his math, farmland with a 91 index rating could see a 37 per cent increase in the first year and a 77 per cent increase in the second year.

Jim Anderson, a farmer from Williamson County, said farmers in the northern part of the state have better lands and therefore should pay more.

“Their soil is a higher quality, so they can sell it at a higher prices,” he told the Herald & Review. “With the exception of land costs, we have the same expenses in equipment … and time.”

Anderson explained a scenario where it costs a farmer $400 to plant an acre of corn, which produces 150 bushels. At $4/bushel it can take 100 bushels to break even and he would need an extra 50 bushels to make money.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.