April 2025 Wallace’s Farmer MarketPlace Extra

If you remember back to this time a year-ago, we were anxiously watching the commodity markets trend lower, wishing each week that we’d sold more grain. With lower grain prices throughout 2024, we eventually saw the farmland market soften for the first time in several years. Farmland buyers became more cautious as profitability was challenged, and most attempted to protect working capital.

Here in early 2025, however, there seems to be a renewed sense of optimism that has started to filter through the countryside. The optimism is not overwhelming, but some positive energy has shown up in recent land sale results. I attribute the turn to an optimistic tone to the fact that the grain markets have rallied significantly from late fall lows to reach a point that is above breakeven for most farming operations, assuming average yields in 2025.

What could temper this optimism? For one, a difficult start to the spring planting season, and secondly, a possible slide in the grain markets related to retaliation for President Trump’s early February tariff moves. Time will tell us more about both issues. But as I review recent sales from across the state, the land market in early 2025 does seem to have firmed.

NORTHWEST

Sioux County:

Located south of Orange City, 101 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $18,500 per acre. The farm consisted of 98 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 (Corn Suitability Rating index) of 86.5, and equaled $220 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTH CENTRAL

Cerro Gordo County:

Located southwest of Rockwell, 95 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $13,575 per acre. The farm consisted of 95 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 86.9, and equaled $156 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTHEAST

Fayette County:

Located northwest of Westgate, 155 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $11,900 per acre. The farm consisted of 155 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 84.4, and equaled $141 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

WEST CENTRAL

Monona County:

Located west of Onawa, 76 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $7,500 per acre. The farm consisted of 76 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 61.2, and equaled $122 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres. Note: This farm is in the river bottom along the Missouri River.

CENTRAL

Jasper County:

Located north of Kellogg, 160 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $7,600 per acre. The farm consisted of 147 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 53.2, and equaled $155 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

EAST CENTRAL

Benton County:

Located northeast of Newhall, 151 +/- acres recently sold for $14,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 145 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 89.8, and equaled $162 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTHWEST

Fremont County:

Located north of Shenandoah, 156 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $10,800 per acre. The farm consisted of 142 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 81.2, and equaled $146 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

SOUTH CENTRAL

Madison County:

Located southwest of Earlham, 54 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $12,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 51 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 54.2, and equaled $234 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres. Note: Approximately 12 acres of the tillable land has not been recently cropped.

SOUTHEAST

Davis County:

Located south of Bloomfield, 118 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $13,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 114 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 53.5, and equaled $251 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

Hensley is president of Hertz Real Estate Services, which compiled this list, but did not handle all sales. Call Hertz at  800-593-5263  or visit hertz.ag.

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