If you’ve spent much time around rural property listings over the last few years, you’ve probably noticed that barndominiums and shouses have become more common with each passing year. I’ve watched that shift happen in real time, and I understand why. I’ve built two barndominiums from scratch, we live in one as our primary residence, and I’ve also sold a number of them for clients across western Illinois. I’ve seen how well they can work, and I’ve also seen where people get c

This week, I read an article on AgWeb that stopped me for a minute. It featured Alex Harrell , a young, large-scale Georgia farmer who made a calculated—and difficult—decision: he’s letting go of more than half of the acres he’s rented for years. Not because he can’t  farm them, but because the numbers no longer work. With today’s input costs and current commodity prices, farming all those acres would mean accepting losses. By farming thousands fewer acres , he expects to hav

Farmland values remain strong in Western Illinois & Eastern Iowa. See 5-year price trends and why land is still a smart investment in 2026.