by Ron Stock

Land is still selling well, although not a lot of land is selling at this time. According to BigIron Realty, scarcity of land for sale combined with high commodity prices continue to drive the value, in spite of higher interest rates.

Based in Columbus, Neb., BigIron is a licensed real estate broker in eight states and compiles the reports for this column. However, not all sales are handled by BigIron each month. For more information, contact BigIron at 800-887-8625.

The following are several of the most recent sales in Nebraska and Oklahoma, this month all handled by BigIron.

Southeast Nebraska

Johnson County. A total of 120 acres sold at online auction for $1,512,000. This is a rare property to come up for sale — highly productive, tiled, terraced and irrigated. The sale included the water well; Reinke Electrogator II; six-tower super swing-arm corner center pivot with energy saver; OnTrack GPS communication package; Inject-O-Meter fertilizer pump; Micrometer flowmeter with vanes; Iveco six-cylinder diesel engine; 1,000-gallon fuel tank; and weather protection shed.

It also included three Nelson stationary big guns and the 4-inch pipe used to irrigate the southeast corner of the farm. All the irrigation equipment was installed new in 2014.

Because of well construction issues, Sargent Irrigation redrilled a completely new well in 2016. Farm Service Agency reports the total cropland at 115.84 acres, and the seller estimated that, on average, this field will produce 225 bushels of corn per acre or 65 bushels of soybeans per acre with 110.38 acres irrigated.

The soil productivity is rated at a 59.7 NCCPI, with more than 75% of the field composed of Wymore silty clay loam.

East Nebraska

Cass County. A total of 116.93 acres sold at online auction for $1,204,379. This farm lies relatively flat, is lightly terraced, is highly productive and is easy to farm. Situated on Highway 50 and Van Dorn Street, 3 miles west of Avoca, grain delivery options are close by. Rich soils are comprised of mostly Otoe, Wymore and Nodaway loams, and it produces an excellent NCCPI of 62.9. This farm has 4.94 acres in the Conservation Reserve Program and a total of 110.67 acres of cropland, as reported by FSA.

Oklahoma

Woodward County. A total of 149.64 acres sold at online auction for $366,618. This land sold as 149.64 contiguous taxable acres. It’s a combination of 81.1 acres of cropland, 65.5 acres of timber, and 3 acres of roads and other uses. The tenant had 32.63 acres planted to wheat and grazed it off.

There are 48.47 acres planted to lovegrass, swathed and baled for cattle feed. The seller retained the 2023 cash rent and paid 100% of the 2023 real estate taxes. The property has a four-wire fence in fair condition around all sides except the south side. The current tenant planned to roll up a quarter-mile of fence on the south side that he installed for the seller’s benefit.

There is no water well on the property. The timber and cropland combination provides excellent habitat for whitetail deer. High ground (a prominence) in the middle of the property provides beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. Several good home locations can be found on the property.

Mineral interest income on the property is part of a unitization agreement paying 0.00332616 net revenue interest (NRI) for gas and a 0.00039914 NRI interest for iodine. Minerals generate about $5,500 in annual income.

Stock is co-founder of BigIron Auctions and Realty with his brother, Mark.