Every land sale tells a story. Sometimes it’s a stocked lake that took years to build. Sometimes it’s world-class soils, a rare large tract, or a location where land rarely comes up for sale. American Farmland Owner examined four notable land sales from 2026 and highlighted what made each property unique and what the final sale price says about land values in today’s agricultural economy. While these four farms are different in many ways, they shared an important characteristic: each offered...

Farm in Edwards County, Illinois. Photo courtesy of Kurtz Auction & Realty. A 1,277-acre farm in southeastern Illinois sold for nearly $10.5 million during a July 9 auction after being divided into 22 tracts. The property, located near West Salem and Albion, brought a total of $10,500,000 averaging $8,222 per acre. The auction was managed by Jason Blue of Kurtz Auction & Realty, who said it was the largest property he has handled this year. Despite the size of the sale, and the unusually high...

Image Courtesy: Whitetail Properties Real Estate A nearly $1.5 million recreational property in northeast Missouri sold in just a few weeks this spring, offering another sign that demand for quality hunting and recreational land remains strong across the state. The 122.6-acre property in Pike County, near Bowling Green, checked many of the boxes today's recreational buyers are looking for: excellent hunting ground, tillable acreage, and a trail system that makes it easy to get around the...

The National Corn Growers Association has released a new report saying U.S. farmers are paying significantly more for crop inputs than Brazilian farmers, one of their biggest competitors in the global marketplace. In some cases, the report showed that U.S. farmers are paying nearly twice as much as their Brazilian counterparts. NCGA posted the report and reactions from its leaders on Wednesday. "I think there has long been a belief among U.S. farmers that we pay more for the same products...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released updated information on farmland ownership in the United States and how much of that land is rented to others. The 2024 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey is part of the Census of Agriculture program and is designed to provide a clearer picture of farmland ownership and management across the country. One of the report's key findings is that farmland ownership remains concentrated among older, non-operating...

It’s not often that a 34,000-acre farm hits the market. Even rarer is finding one that consists of a single, massive, contiguous landholding. That’s exactly what’s happening in central South Dakota, just outside the state capital of Pierre. Gunsmoke Ranch contiguous acres Gunsmoke Ranch, a sprawling dryland organic farming operation, is being offered through a sealed-bid process that runs through July 30th. According to Peoples Company President Steve Bruere, who is managing the sale,...

The struggles facing U.S. farmers and the agriculture industry as a whole have been well documented over the past few years. The headlines paint a picture of a sector under pressure: low commodity prices, high input costs, trade disputes, and global conflicts that continue to weigh on the bottom line of both farmers and the businesses that support them. But a recent article from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, packed with data spanning the past 25 years, offers some valuable...

A new change has impacted one of the long-standing responsibilities of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, which monitors the agricultural economy across the Midwest. The Chicago Fed's district includes some of the nation's most agriculture-intensive states: Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Each quarter, the bank releases survey results from agricultural lenders through its AgLetter publication. These responses provide a snapshot of land values and credit conditions—two key...

Stoughton, Wisconsin farm. Picture courtesy: Adam Crist, Peoples Company A 208-acre farm in south-central Wisconsin went up for auction at the end of April. And if you blinked, you might have missed what happened. The farm, located about 15 miles south of Madison in Stoughton, was offered in five tracts. It sold for a combined total of $4,554,884 or $21,946 per acre. Adam Crist, one of the Peoples Company agents handling the sale, said the pace and price left some of the attendees stunned....

Franklin/Indiana/Clinton County, Indiana farm near Lebanon. Photo courtesy: Geswein Farm & Land. A large farm with high-quality soil located in west-central Indiana drew a lot of interest at auction this spring, but it wasn’t just soil and size driving the price. Its position inside one of the Midwest’s growing high-tech corridors helped push the sale well above typical farmland values. The nearly 602-acre property, marketed by Geswein Farm & Land, sold March 31st for an average of $19,259...

Photo Courtesy: Merit Auctions. A 128-acre farm in southeast Iowa sold at auction in late March for a total of $2,095,250, or $15,674 per acre. The Louisa County property was offered in four tracts, including a 79-acre parcel of cropland and three smaller timber tracts. A fifth parcel featuring a home in nearby Henry County was also part of the auction. The farmland was the clear highlight, drawing strong competition and ultimately selling for $21,050 per acre. John Probasco, senior auction...

Y Bar O Ranch in Brewster County, Texas. Image courtesy: Hall and Hall. When you think of classic American cattle ranches, Texas is often the first place that comes to mind. And this week, one of the Lone Star State’s well-known ranches changed hands for the first time in 60 years. The Y Bar O Ranch, located in the far West region of the state, was sold last week by the family of original owners, W.B. “Dub” Yarborough and his wife, Kay. The 29,071-acre property was listed at $46,513,600....