A central South Dakota crop and cattle ranch tops the auction sales this month. About 1,200 acres — all contiguous — sold for 2,328 per acre. Read below about this and other auctions, and community bankers’ prediction of a 3% decline in land prices this year.

Ranch sells for $2,328/a
A 1,200-acre all-contiguous working crop and cattle ranch about 40 miles east of Pierre, S.D., sold for approximately $2,328 per acre in an online auction in mid-June. The ranch consisted about 680 acres of cropland with Class II soils. There was a 1,368-square-foot house on the ranch, a 40-by-60-foot pole barn, livestock holding pens, three barns and a five-bin, 23,500-bushel grain bin site with 220-amp electrical service. There was a wind energy easement on this ranch for a wind farm project in development, paying $4 per acre with 100% of payment going to the purchaser beginning December 2017. Nine acres of 10-year-old trees were enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. They provided superb hunting opportunities, along with good protection for sheltering cattle, the sale bill said. The buyer received a $40,000 credit for half of the year’s rent. — Auction conducted and managed by Advantage Land Co., Brookings, S.D. Phone: 605-692-2525. Website: advantagelandco.com.

$7,600/a for Lake County, SD, land
About 43 acres of cropland in Lake County, S.D., sold for $7,600 per acre at an auction in June. The parcel had a 82.9 Surety productivity rating. The buyer received a $160-per-acre credit for the 2017 rent. — Auction managed and conducted by Sutton Auctioneer and Land Broker, Sioux Falls, S.D. Phone: 605-336-6315. Website: suttonauction.com.

$5,775/a for Deuel County, S.D., land
An 80-acre farm in a good agricultural area in Deuel County, S.D., sold for $5,775 per acre at an auction in June. The tillable land had a Surety AgriData productivity index of 70.9. The farm was leased for the 2017 crop year, and the new buyer received a $12,000 credit at closing. The farm was also sold with a wind tower easement. — Auction managed and conducted by Burlage Peterson Realty, Brookings, S.D. Phone 605-692-7102. Website: burlagepeterson.com.

45 acres in Black Hills for $175,000
Forty-five acres of forest in the northern Black Hills sold for $175,000, or about 3,888 per acre, recently. The property had “great canyon views and privacy,” according to the sale bill. It was bordered by Black Hills National Forest on three sides and had great access to Sturgis and Rapid City, according to the sale bill. — Sold by Farmers National Co., Don Gustin, agent. Phone: 605-381-9583. Website: farmersnational.com.

Bankers predict 3% decline
Independent community bankers from 10 Midwestern states who participated in Creighton University’s Rural Main Street Index (RMI) survey in June predicted farmland prices will decline by another 3% over the next 12 months.

But in a way that’s good news. In August 2016, they predicted a 7% decline.

Bankers from North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming participate in the project.

This survey represents an early snapshot of the economy of rural portions of the nation that are dependent on agriculture and energy. The RMI is a unique index covering 10 regional states, focusing on approximately 200 rural communities with an average population of 1,300. Ernie Goss, the Jack A. MacAllister Chair in regional economics at Creighton University's Heider College of Business, and Bill McQuillan, former chairman of the Independent Community Banks of America, created the monthly economic survey in 2005.