MAJOR ABSOLUTE LAND AUCTION

The Grand Island Farm Portfolio represents a rare opportunity to acquire a significant amount of land in Nebraska’s Central Platte Valley. The portfolio will be offered in 10 tracts ranging from development ready land within the Grand Island City limits to productive irrigated farmland. The tracts can be purchased individually or in any combination. 

Located immediately west of Grand Island, the portfolio includes 1,298.81 total acres with approximately 1,183.02 tillable acres, making the offering nearly 95% tillable. The farms combine productive soils, extensive irrigation infrastructure, and convenient access to Highway 30, Interstate 80, and the strong agricultural markets of central Nebraska. The farms have a long history of irrigated row-crop production with historical yield information available. Predominant soils include Jansen fine sandy loam, Wood River-Silver Creek silt loams, and Wood River silt loam, which collectively account for approximately 85% of the mapped tillable acreage.
 
Water and irrigation infrastructure are important components of the portfolio. The farms are located within the Central Platte Natural Resources District and are supported by 15 irrigation wells and 10 center-pivot irrigation systems. The pivots include Valley, Zimmatic, and Reinke systems, with several newer systems and irrigation improvements made in recent years. Reported capacities for many of the irrigation wells range from approximately 850 to 1,200 gallons per minute.
 
The properties are all located within a fairly small 4 x 7 mile geographic area of one another, offering the potential for an enterprise operation, saving equipment transportation road time over large distances in order to farm all of their land.  Nebraska contains the largest share of the Ogallala aquifer – the largest natural aquifer by volume of any in the United States.  The combination of Grand Island’s elevation and the near-to-surface, readily available access to this cherished resource makes farming a much more predictable endeavor, and a large majority of the farms offered are well developed with irrigation systems already in place to support crop production. 

The local livestock industry requires not only corn for feed but additional crop production opportunities such as alfalfa hay and rye for either grazing or cutting for silage.  The area livestock interests also offer access to manure as a natural substitute fertilizer rather than relying solely on commercial fertilizers that are subject to greater price volatility.  The historical production on several of these farms, including multiple crops being produced each year, further sets them apart.  Combine all of these attributes together with the convergence of multiple highways, State and County roads, and both the Union Pacific and BNSF railroads providing services to multiple grain terminals and ethanol plants in the area, the transportation and marketing options further set this opportunity apart from many others. 

The Baxter Enterprises portfolio presented for sale is the culmination of 90+ years of meticulously careful planning by the Baxter family and offers something for all types of buyers.