Farmers Still Driving Nebraska Land Sales, Broker Says
- Brooke Bouma Kohlsdorf
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
When a farm with strong soil and a reliable irrigation system recently sold at auction in southwest Nebraska, the final price surprised even the broker handling the sale.
“We were pulling comparables anywhere from $6,500 to $8,000 an acre,” said Scott Dean of Farmers National Company. “We ended up blowing past that.”
The 322.73-acre property in Keith County outside Ogallala sold for $10,100 an acre, totaling $3,259,573. The farm was offered in two tracts but ultimately purchased together by a local farmer who plans to operate the land himself.
Motivated Buyers for Nebraska Farm
For Dean, the result highlights a larger trend he continues to see across western Nebraska: local farmers remain the driving force behind land values.
“A big reason the price went where it did is we had three very motivated neighbors who all wanted it,” Dean said.
Land Features of Nebraska Farm
The farm had several qualities buyers sought, including high-quality soil and irrigation supported by strong water access. The property sits in an area not currently under irrigation allocation restrictions from the region’s Natural Resources District (NRD), Dean said.
But even with those advantages, Dean said local farmers — not outside investors — ultimately set the tone for this land sale and others in the region.
“It’s a strong farming community,” he said. “Not a lot of land has traded hands here. And when it does, neighbors are usually the first ones interested.”
The February 25th auction was simulcast online and in person, drawing both farmers and investors. Most bidders attending in person were local producers, while many online bidders were investors.
The land had been owned by the same family for decades and was previously farmed by them until 2016 when they began renting it to a tenant.
Nebraska Land Values
Despite a struggling agriculture economy overall, Dean said farmers remain the backbone of farmland sales in the region. This sale brought a price that was above statewide averages.
According to the University of Nebraska’s 2025 Nebraska Real Estate Market Survey, irrigated cropland values averaged $8,730 an acre statewide last year, down 4% from the previous year. In southwest Nebraska, the average was $5,245 an acre.
Even so, Dean said interest from neighboring producers continues to shape the market.
“When people call and ask about selling a property, the first question we ask is: Who are your neighbors, and how interested are they?” Dean said. “That’s what’s driving land sales in our neck of the woods more than anything right now.”
