At 15 years old, Callee Pellett signed her first land lease. A year later, she farms nearly 20 acres on her own. As the seventh generation, it's a unique opportunity she doesn't take for granted.

The economic environment we're in today is very similar to the 1970s and into the mid-1980s, says Bill Biedermann, a commodity markets adviser. During that time many farmers went broke and, in the process, learned these two lessons.

El Niño summers tend to produce strong crop yields, says Eric Snodgrass, the principal atmospheric scientist with Nutrien Ag. “Since 1970, we've had 17 El Niño summers, and 14 of them had trendline yields slightly above that. This means we generally think of El Niño summers having a more juicy atmosphere, or more stuff for thunderstorms,” he says.

Paul Schadegg with Farmers National Company shares his perspective on ag real estate demand, the impact of interest rates on the market and the outlook for land values later this year.