Indiana land prices took a sharp turn higher in the last half of 2021. Both R.D. Schrader of Schrader Real Estate and Auction Co., Columbia City, and Howard Halderman, head of Halderman Farm Management and Real Estate Services, Wabash, echoed sentiment for continuing strength in land sales during the recent Purdue University Top Farmer workshop.

“Prices may not remain as high as late last year, but we expect them to continue strong at least through the first quarter of 2022,” Halderman says.

Here are the results of three Indiana farmland auctions conducted during the last week of January.

Jan. 26, Benton County. A 421-acre farm northwest of Fowler sold for $14,726 per acre. Sources indicate the buyer is an investor from outside Indiana who has purchased farmland before and works with an Indiana tenant.

“Interest in this farm was high among farmers and investors alike, and both were actively bidding until the very end,” Schrader says. “The soils were excellent, and the land was contiguous, but I think a major factor in the outcome was a continued belief that in the long term, farmland will continue to provide steady returns without the volatility we see in other financial markets.”

Other sources indicate that a larger parcel with similar soils in close proximity to this farm sold for just under $10,000 per acre in the fall of 2020.

Jan. 27, Carroll County. Halderman sold a 147-acre farm just west of Delphi for $10,000 per acre. That includes two plotted lots of over 1 acre each, selling for a total of $48,000. This farm sold through an online-only auction format. Sources say it is primarily Ockley soils, which consist of loam over gravel at typical depths around 36 inches. The farm is not irrigated and is cut up into different tracts by ditches and other natural barriers.

Jan. 29, Johnson County. A 392-acre farm was offered in eight tracts by LandProz. The farm is in northern Johnson County, just south of Indianapolis, but is currently farmland not zoned for development or outfitted with utilities. The farm sold for $7.11 million, or $18,138 per acre. Two sets of buildings sold for a combined total of $845,000. Removing the buildings, cropland brought about $16,500 per acre. A non-farm business owner bought the main house, hog buildings and grain setup. Investors bought some tracts, and a local farmer and business owner also bought tracts.