Beyond Price Per Acre: Broker Johnny Klemme on the True Value of Farmland

In a world where farmland prices continue to dominate headlines and coffee shop conversations, Johnny Klemme invites us to look deeper — beyond the numbers, beyond the market reports — to explore what value really means.

Klemme is an advisor, mediator, broker, auctioneer, and family farmer, as well as co-owner of Geswein Farm & Land Realty in Lafayette, Indiana.

Johnny Klemme bio:

• Geswein Farm & Land Realty – Co-Owner, Advisor, Broker, Auctioneer

• Family Farmer – West Lafayette, Indiana

• K.L. Security Enterprises – Co-Founder

• Author --“American Family Farmland”

“I’ve always thought of the value of land as something far more than the price per acre, right?” Klemme told American Farmland Owner. “The whole concept behind the book is the idea of land values, and that every person has a different interpretation of what value means to them.”

“The book” is his first book, “American Family Farmland: A Landowner’s Guide to Inheriting the Farm.”

For Klemme, that question — what does land mean to you? — doesn’t have a simple answer.

Value of Farmland

“For some people, that’s emotional,” he continued. “For some people, that’s sort of duty and principle. And for other people, it is financial. It doesn’t take away from one or the other. And a lot of times, people’s values overlap all three of those categories.”

That intersection — where emotion, duty, and economics meet — is where many of the most challenging farm family decisions occur. Whether it’s deciding whether to sell, pass down, or divide the farm, Klemme has seen firsthand how deeply personal those choices can be. 

“Sometimes when there’s a lot of heirs involved, we find that a common theme is, like, well, if we pass the farm to them, the problems might get worse,” he said. “That’s a very real thing that does happen. I’ve seen it many, many times.”

Klemme’s approach in his work — and in his book — is to help people see those differences not as conflicts, but as opportunities for understanding.

“That seems to be where I’ve gotten the most feedback,” he said. “People tell me, ‘Hey, this was really helpful to me because my uncle sees it differently than I do. And that’s okay. But now I recognize that. I may not have seen it clearly before, but maybe now I’m seeing it a little clearer.’”

How to Have Tough Conversations about the Future of the Farm

Klemme said that he aims to connect with farm families in a personal way. “I did deliberately try to write the book to feel like we were sitting at the kitchen table together,” he explained.

He said, “To me, that’s really important, because that’s where most of my conversations happen with my clients. We’re either in the combine, on the tailgate of a pickup truck, or sitting at the kitchen table having a cup of coffee.”

That conversational tone, Klemme said, helps take the pressure off. “It doesn’t feel like it’s saying you have to do it this way, or you should do it this way. It’s more conversational in nature,” he said.

How does Klemme answer the question of how he defines the value of his own multi-generational farmland?

 “It’s a big question,” he admitted as he paused. “It strikes me in a lot of different ways, because I care about the soil. I care about my neighbor’s farm, too, and how our farms interact with one another.”

Klemme’s own property is a mixture of tillable acres and wooded areas — a landscape that invites reflection as much as production. “We’ve got riparian buffers, we’ve got wildlife,” he said. “We forage food we grow. So, you know, value to me is more intrinsic than it is financial at this point in time in life.”

The Next Generation of Farming

Now a grandfather, Klemme’s thoughts increasingly turn to what comes next. “We’ve got our first grandbaby as well, so those are things we’re thinking about now,” he said.

“What’s that look like in the future?” he continued. “I think, really, at the end of the day, as long as we can continue to instill in the next generation to follow your heart, to do what’s best, to steward the land, to steward the farm…and ultimately know that if something does need to change in the future, it’s okay if that does happen.”

That philosophy of acceptance — that change isn’t failure, but evolution — may be one of Klemme’s most powerful lessons.

“I would much rather convey that than have somebody wondering, ‘Was this the right thing? Am I doing my ancestors right or wrong by making this decision?’” he said. “I’d much rather communicate that sooner, to say, ‘hey, it’s okay to make these tough decisions.’”

Reflecting on his own family’s history, Klemme shared a personal example: “I even think about our own family farm. Would Grandpa want our family farm sold? Probably not, right? But ultimately, he farmed that land, and that gift enabled all of our family members to move to the next chapter in their own life. That’s also really important to recognize.”

At a time when the conversation around agriculture often focuses on dollars, markets, and yields, Klemme’s message is a reminder that land is more than a balance sheet entry. It’s a living connection — between people, generations, and the natural world.

As he put it, “Value isn’t just about what the land can earn, but about what it teaches us — about stewardship, about family, and about the choices we make to honor both.”