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In both 2013 and 2023, per- acre machinery value declines as farm acreage increases.  However, the rate of decline is less steep in 2023 than in 2013, indicating a more efficient allocation of machinery investment on larger farms, according to a report by Bradley Zwilling with Illinois FBMF Association and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois. 

For example, Zwilling says, in 2013, a 1,000-acre farm had an average machinery value of about $660 per acre.  This declined to approximately $420 per acre on a 5,000-acre farm – a difference of $240 per acre.  In contrast, in 2023, the per-acre machinery value decreased from about $900 on a 1,000-acre farm to $730 on a 5,000-acre farm – a decline of only $170 per acre.  These trends suggest that larger farms in 2023 were able to spread higher-value machinery investments over more acres.

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