Both a recollection of the disastrous consequences of the inflationary land prices following World War I and recognition o f the possibility of a recurrence have stimulated public interest in information about the current farm real estate situation. This report has been prepared by the North Central Regional Land Tenure Committee for the purpose of presenting an appraisal of the current situation, stimulating discussion of the problems, and outlining the various possible lines of action most often suggested for curbing undesirable developments.

The North Central Regional Land Tenure Committee came into existence as the result o f an informal conference sponsored by the Farm Foundation in the spring of 1939 for land economists from the agricultural experiment stations in the Midwest. As an outgrowth of this and subsequent meetings, the director of each station appointed one of his staff to the Regional Land Tenure Committee which also includes representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture.

The major function of the committee is to develop an integrated long-time program of research that will lead to the improvement of farm tenure in the region. This report pertaining to land price inflation in the Midwest is the committee’s second formal publication. The first was entitled “Improving Farm Tenure in the Midwest” and was published as Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 502. The present bulletin is based not only on reports collected from sample counties but on observation and study of the situation by at least one representative from each of the participating states. It is impractical to cite specific land market material published by the several cooperating institutions, but such information is available upon request to the participating agencies.