Greetings! Land auctions in Iowa were down from last week. There were a total of 693 acres offered at auction and, of those acres, 579 were tillable. I would describe last week’s auctions results as “fairly stable." Some of the highlights:

•  A 57-acre tract in Sioux County sold for $12,000/acre with a CSR/CSR2 69/91

•  A 160-acre tract sold in Fayette County for $7,400/acre with a CSR/CSR2 of 79/87

•  In Howard County, 240 acres sold in three 80-acre tracts for $6,500/acre, $5,700/acre and $6,000/acre with a CSR/CSR2 of 75/86, 72/75 and 73/79, respectively 

There was one true “no sale” last week in Clayton County with the farm still being for sale. 

I have been watching some auctions down in the northern half of Missouri. There have been some really strong prices in the past 60 days. I visited with a Realtor who has auctioned several farms during the past couple of weeks. The Realtor stated that there has been a late rally to buy land before planting season. With no supply on the market, tracts that have been auctioned recently have done very well. 

The number of land auctions is down considerably all across Iowa for the next 30 days. There is very limited amount of tillable land for sale, and this is keeping the land market up in spite of low grain prices. It is still my opinion if anyone is thinking of selling farmland, the sooner you bring it to the market the better.  

Please check back next week to see what I will be discussing. Please check out our recently posted March auction results. Finally, please make sure to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest sale results and industry news.

Talk to you soon!  

Jim Rothermich, The Land Talker
Certified General Appraiser
Peoples Company Appraisal Team