Farm Progress

Farmland auction sale prices seem lower this fall than the past few years.

September 17, 2018

3 Min Read
SALE TRENDS: Prime farmland in the Dakotas sold for $3,000-$6,000 in auction in August and September.

Farmland auction prices I gathered this month seem lower than they were at the same time the past few years.

A McCook County, S.D., farm that sold for $6,125 per acre was the highest price I found this month. Cropland in Moody County, S.D. — where land was selling for $8,000-$10,000 per acre the past several years — sold for $5,700 per acre this month.

Of course, there's no way of knowing through a survey whether the quality of land in these sales was the same as land sold at the same time the past few years.

Farmers National Company representatives, who spoke at a Big Iron Farm Show land values panel in September, said prices were "firm" for quality land. Prices for land in North Dakota they sold or auctioned in the late summer and early fall had "met or exceeded" the sellers' expectations, they said.

$6,125 per acre buys McCook County land
Approximately 156 acres of cropland in McCook County, S.D., sold for $6,125 per acre at an auction Aug. 31. The land had a soil productivity index rating of 79.7. — Burlage Peterson Auctioneers and Realtors, LLC, Brookings, S.D. Phone: 605-692-7102, burlagepeterson.com.

Turner County, S.D., cropland sells
117 acres of farmland in Turner County, S.D., sold for $3,750 per acre at an auction Sept. 6. All but 10 acres of the property was tillable. The 10 acres were in pasture and hay ground. The land had an average soil productivity rating of 86.5. — Auction managed and conducted by Wieman Land and Auction Co., Marion, S.D. Phone: 800-251-3111, wiemanauction.com.

Moody County farmland sells for $5,700
Two tracts of farmland in Moody County, S.D., sold for $5,700 and $5,100 per acre at an auction in September. The farm that sold for $5,700 per acre consisted of 155 acres, with 148 acres of cropland. The tract that sold for $5,100 per acre consisted of 138 acres with 122 acres of crop and a 9-acre farmstead. — Auction managed and conducted by Burlage Peterson Auctioneers and Realtors, LLC, Brookings, S.D. Phone: 605-692-7102, burlagepeterson.com; and Sutton Auctioneer and Land Broker, Sioux Falls, S.D. Phone: 605-336-6315, suttonauction.com.

'Beautiful' quarter sells for $2,400 per acre
About 157 acres of cropland in Hyde County, S.D., sold for approximately $2,400 per acre at an auction in August. "A beautiful farming quarter, nearly all tillable, located adjacent to South Dakota Highway 14 with mostly Highmore-DeGrey silt loam soils with an average soil productivity index of 73.8," the sale bill read. "This land looks good, lays great, and is a quarter that anyone would be proud to own." — Auction managed and conducted by Farmers National Co., Tyler Radke, agent. Phone 605-999-0919, farmersnational.com.

Western ranch brings $1,050 per acre
A ranch about five miles south of Hettinger, S.D. with 1,057 deeded acres sold for $1,050 per acre an auction June. The ranch consisted of approximately 50% crop-hay ground and 50% pasture. The ranch had a Class A grazing permit of 133 units (pair) plus five bulls in Pasture 1-A of the Grand River Grazing Association which borders the deeded land. The grazing permit was for May 15 to Oct. 15. Outbuildings included several pole barns, two grain bins and an older 1,168 square foot four-bedroom house. — Auction managed and conducted by Farmers National Co., Don Gustin, agent. Phone 605-381-9583, farmersnational.com.

$3,875 per acre for Faulk County section
A section of Faulk County, S.D., farmland sold for approximately for $3,875 per acre in a public auction Aug. 28. The land was clear to farm in 2019. Soil productivity in the 640 acres ranged from 70.7 to 80. — Auction managed and conducted by Burlage Peterson Auctioneers and Realtors, LLC, Brookings, S.D. Phone: 605-692-7102, burlagepeterson.com.

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