Skip
to main content

AgWeb.com Farm Journal Legacy Project Top Producer Dairy Today Beef Today Pro
Farmer Ag
Day TV US
Farm Report MyMachinery.com Plant Health Ultimate Farm Quest Corn
College DOW
Weed Resistance Microsite Marketing Rally Farmers Feeding the
World Implement & Tractor
Farmers Feeding the World - test
Outdoors on the Farm
Baxter Black

November 18, 2010

Home| Tools| Events| Blogs| Discussions

Sign UpLogin

News

AgWeb News

Weather

Markets

Crops

Livestock

Business

Laughs

Multimedia

Machinery

RSS Feeds

AgWeb Events

Blogs

News Wire

Weather

Current
Conditions

Forecasts

International

Severe Weather

QT Weather

Markets

Multimedia
Market Reports

Market Analysis

Market
Quotes

Cash Grain Bids

LDP

Discussions

Futures

USDA Reports

Pro Farmer
Midwest Crop Tour

2010 Marketing
Rally

Crops

Crop Comments

Corn

Soybeans

Cotton

Wheat

Hay and Forage

Other Crops

Ask an Agronomist

Ultimate Farm
Quest

Pro Farmer
Midwest Crop Tour

Livestock

Dairy

Beef

Hogs

Poultry

Business

Management

Land

Legacy Project

The Farm CPA blog

Ultimate Farm
Quest

2011 Top
Producer Seminar

Premium Content
Library

Fun & Family

Campus Tour

Late-Night Laughs

Rubes
Cartoons

Talk
Humor

What a Day!

Photo Galleries

Jokes

Recipes

Factoid of the Day

Family

Outdoors on the
Farm

Multimedia

Video

Photo Galleries

AgWeb Poll Archive

Discussions

AgDay Television

U.S. Farm Report

Corn
College TV

Outdoors on the
Farm

Leave a Legacy
TV

Machinery

News

Machinery
Guide

Machinery
Showroom

MyMachinery

Precision
Agriculture

Implement
& Tractor

Facebook| Twitter| Share

| Email| Print

Iowa Farm Brings Huge Price

November 18, 2010

By: Mike Walsten, Pro
Farmer Editor

Related Stories

Audio:
Murray Wise on Fund Investments in Farmland

Funds
Will Impact Farmland Price, Rents and Marketing

How
Might a Rise in Interest Rates Affect Farmland Prices

Subscribe to Landowner Newsletter. Click here.

Rumors
of the huge price tag from a recent auction in Sioux County, Iowa, appear to be
true. An 80-acre tract recently sold for $13,950/acre at an auction confirms Del
Beyer, Beyer Auction & Realty, Sioux Center, whose firm handled the
auction.

While this may raise some eyebrows and lead some to believe new levels of
farmland prices are about to be established, it’s best to look at the area and
understand it’s history. "The area is dominated by very well-established farm
families with deep roots," he tells us.

The ground featured a CSR (corn suitability rating) of 70 — typical for
that particular area. Selling price —$13,950 an acre.

"There are commercial-size cattle, hog, poultry and dairy operations here,
as well. Plus, there’s the pull from ethanol plants," Beyer says. The presence
of so many extensive, diverse operations can result in intense bidding when a
tract becomes available.

Beyer says bidding started at $7,500 an acre and rose in $100 increments
with recesses at $11,000 and $12,000 an acre. Two bidders — neighboring farmers
— carried the contest upward in $50 increments from the $12,000 mark. Total time
of the auction: 25 minutes.

For perspective, Beyer was involved with two other recent land auctions in
Sioux County — both 80-acre tracts. One sold for $8,550 an acre and the other
$9,575 an acre.

Answering the question of a more representative price for farmland can be a
tricky one, because there are many exceptions.

The land market is local — the Sioux County market is unusually strong, for
instance, but there are others that are very conservative. So coming up with a
representative price range is difficult. However, Farmers National Company (FNC)
has attempted to do just that. The charts below show their estimated average
value for high quality farmland (blue) and below average farmland (green) as of
the end of September.

"You’ll see individual land sales that are above the averages we list
here," says FNC CEO Jim Farrell, AFM, "but in general you’ll see the bulk of
sales coming in somewhere near the figures we’ve listed here."

See
Comments

RELATED TOPICS:
Farm
Business

Log
In or Sign
Up to comment

COMMENTS

Name:

Comments:

Report inappropriate comment

Type of Abuse:

Swearing Invalid
Content

Comments:

No comments have been posted, be
the first one to comment.

Hot Links & Cool Tools

View More>>

ALSO RECOMMENDED

LATEST
HEADLINES

MOST
COMMENTED

Great
Britain’s Controversial Nocton Dairies Slashes Proposed Cow Numbers While
Revealing Huge Carbon Efficiencies

December
31, 2010 - Date to Make Taxable Gifts

Market
Watch Diary: Milk Speculators

Happy Trails

Groundwater
Coalition

California's
Future Look

California
at the Crossroads

Dairy
Talk: Skewed to the right

Wisconsin
Sees 37% Growth in Agricultural Exports

Ethanol
Subsidy Under Fire

Tools
to Help Along the Way

Sign
Up for New Combo Policy by September 30

I-9
Flexibility

Profit
in the Details: Monitor performance

More
Tips to Boost Employee Performance

Out
to Pasture: All I’m Asking for Is Simple Fairness

Machinery
Directory (2008)

Dairy
Talk: Shore up the Foundation

722,000 More
Heifers

Bouncing
Checks and Bad Guys

AgWeb.com Farm Journal Legacy Project Top Producer Dairy Today Beef Today Pro Farmer Ag Day TV US Farm Report MyMachinery.com Plant Health Ultimate Farm Quest Corn
College DOW
Weed Resistance Microsite Marketing Rally Farmers Feeding the
World Implement &
Tractor Farmers Feeding the
World - test Outdoors on the Farm
Baxter Black

The Homepage of Agriculture

About Farm Journal
Media|About Our
Magazines|Contact Us|Advertise|Lite Version|RSS|Twitter|Facebook|YouTube

© 2010 AgWeb.com. All Rights Reserved|Web site design and development by AmericanEagle.com|Site Map|Privacy
Policy|Terms & Conditions