Dakota Farmer

Land quality varies widely in recent auctions

The price of land recently sold at auction varied widely, too.

Lon Tonneson, Editor, Dakota Farmer

October 23, 2019

3 Min Read
Wheat grows next to corn
GOOD LAND: Wheat grows next to corn on a northwest North Dakota farm.Lon Tonneson

Land billed as “exceptional cropland” and land billed as suitable only for small grains sold at public auctions in September. Land at these and other auctions in the Dakotas ranged from $810 to $5,400 per acre.

$5,400 per acre buys land in Clay County, SD

More than 800 acres in Clay and Yankton counties in South Dakota sold in four tracts at a public auction in September. A tract with 334 acres in Clay County sold for $5,400 per acre. All but about 20 acres are tillable. The rest was in a tree grove, abandoned buildings, waterways and roads.

About 145 acres in Clay County sold for $4,750. It is a combination of productive cropland and some grassland and wildlife production and hunting habitat, with a large dugout and stock dam.

A 143-acre parcel in Clay County sold for $3,100 per acre. The land is a combination of productive cropland and some hunting and wildlife production habitat created by a mixture of remnants of an old farmstead. It has a  mature tree grove and lowland or slough acres.

A 231-acre parcel of crop and pasture land in Yankton County sold for approximately $3,975 per acre. It had about 193 acres of cropland. The non-tillable acres on this farm are comprised primarily of grassland, drainage, some lowland pockets, trees and roads. The average soil productivity rating was 0.775. — Auction managed and conducted by Sutton Auctioneer and Land Broker, Sioux Falls, S.D.; Phone 605-336-6315; suttonauction.com.

Exceptional ND cropland

Approximately 155 acres in Richland County, N.D., sold for $4,600 per acre at a public auction Sept 18. The property is “exceptional cropland with strong cropping history,” according to the sale bill. It has Highway 11 access and a soil productivity index of 78. There are mature trees and a building site on the property. — Auction managed and conducted by Pifer’s Auction and Realty, Moorhead, Minn.; phone 877-700-4099; pifers.com.

Bennett County, SD, land sells for $810 per acre

More than 846 acres in Bennett County, S.D., near the LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge, sold for $810 per acre. The property was divided into five tracts for the auction. Bid prices on the tracts ranged from $2,000 to $550 per acre per tract.

The headquarters tract, consisting of 40 acres, has soil productivity ratings ranging from 82-91. It included a shelterbelt, a Quonset structure and older grain bins. It sold for $2,000 per acre.

The largest tract of land, 428 acres, consists of nearly all tillable acres with soil productivity ratings varying from 70 to 87. It sold for $860 per acre. The farm sold as one unit and averaged $810 per acre — Auction conducted and managed by Hewitt Land Co., Piedmont, S.D.; phone 605-791-2300; hewittlandcompany.com.

Small-grain land sold in ND

Approximately 145 acres in Stutsman County, N.D., sold at auction on Sept 17 for $927 per acre. About 141 acres are tillable, with an overall soil productivity index of 32.7, which is suitable to grow small grains, the sale bill said. — Auction managed and conducted by Pifer’s Auction and Realty, Moorhead, Minn.; phone 877-700-4099; pifers.com.

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