Worries about COVID-19 didn’t scare buyers away from all land auctions in South Dakota and North Dakota throughout April and early May. Properties sold at auction in this period included a 2,500-head cattle feedlot, a large diversified ranch, and two grain farms with U.S. Fish and Wildlife easements

Moody County, S.D.

A 72-acre cattle feedlot in Moody County, S.D., sold for $710,000 at a public auction in April.

The property includes a four-bedroom home; heated shop; equipment storage building; livestock loading, sorting and working facility; 16-pen cattle yard with concrete bunks and feed pads; heavy duty fencing, commodity shed; bunker feed storage, certified 80-foot scale, three lagoons; and a 2,500-head confined animal feeding permit — Auction managed and conducted by Sutton Auctioneer and Land Broker, Sioux Falls, S.D. Phone: 605-336-6315. suttonauction.com.

Nelson County, N.D.

Approximately 627 acres in Nelson County, N.D., sold for $1,017 per acre in April. The property has about 400 acres of cropland.

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife easement is in force on the land, and 183 acres of the property are in the Water Bank Program until Dec. 31, 2028. The owner receives $5,941 per year. — Auction managed and conducted by Farmers National Co. farmersnational.com.

Mellette County, S.D.

At an auction in April, a 2,967-acre farm and ranch in Mellette County, S.D., sold in five tracts for $875 to $1,075 per acre. The property included an improved and diversified farm-ranch unit with what the sale bill described as “quality cropland, summer grass, winter shelter and excellent hunting opportunities. All with an easy access location with frontage along SD Highway.”

The property headquarters includes two homes, outbuildings, livestock yards and grain storage. There are about 1,462 acres of cropland, most with productivity indexes from the mid-60s to mid-70s. One tract has a productivity rating of 87. The remainder of the property is grazing land with abundant water sources.

The property “offers deer, turkey, pheasants, grouse and varmint hunting,” according to the sale bill said. — Auction conducted and managed by Fisher Round and Associates, Pierre, S.D. Phone: 605-224-9223. frarealestate.com; and Sutton Auctioneer and Land Broker.

Stutsman County, N.D.

A Stutsman County, N.D., farm with 689 acres of cropland, pasture and Conservation Reserve Program acres sold in three tracts for $840, $900, and $1,600 per acre. The pastureland has ample water sources and established fencing.

Forty-four acres are enrolled in CRP. The payment is $2,186 annually. The contract expires in 2022. There are no grassland easements in place on this property. — Auction managed and conducted by Pifer’s Auction and Realty, Moorhead. Phone: 877-700-4099. pifers.com.

Sanborn County, S.D.

Approximately 480 acres in Sanborn County, S.D., managed under a U.S. Fish and Wildlife easement, sold for $1,800 per acre at a public auction in late April.

The 480 acres are contiguous and include a King Brook Rural Water pasture tap, flowing well, stock dam, creek, permanent corral and 1¼ miles of new four strand barbed wire fence, with the balance of the fence in fair condition. The pasture has been well managed and not over grazed, according to the sale bill. — Westra Atkins Land and Auction, Centerville, S.D. Phone: 605 681-6614. westraatkins.com.

Burke County, N.D.

Approximately 320 acres of cropland in Burke County, N.D., sold for $1,175 per acre at an auction in April. The land’s soil productivity index averages 55.3 with the terrain fairly level to gently sloping.

“Small grains, canola, flax, field peas, soybeans, sunflowers, and edible beans tend to grow well in this area and on land with this profile,” according to the sale bill. — Auction managed and conducted by Pifer’s Auction and Realty, Moorhead.