Minnesota farmland sells $9,285 per acre

AUSTIN, Minn. — Low corn prices weren’t enough to dampen demand for a 224-acre farm March 12 in Mower County. The farm sold for $2.08 million, or $9,285 per acre, in an auction conducted by Murray Wise Associates. The auction drew a full house that included investors and local farmers – who engaged in a spirited competition for the three tracts making up the farm.

“It helped that this was one of the better farms in the area, with good soils and tiling, but it really was a strong result,” said MWA’s John Kirkpatrick. “Two of our three buyers were investors – one from Oregon and the other from Arizona.

“While we did have a farmer purchase one of the tracts, the investors were really the biggest force in the room today. That runs counter to what a lot of people might have expected. Farmers have been buying most land offered at auction lately, and conventional wisdom has been that this trend would continue,” he said.

Earlier in the week, company CEO Murray Wise said in a presentation at a conference sponsored by WILLag.org that higher quality land is holding its value better in the current market. “The Minnesota auction definitely supports my assertion that we have a tiered market right now, with much more stability – and in some cases even some price increases – in the better land,” he said.

For more details, visit www.murraywiseassociates.com or www.woltz.com or call 800-607-6888.

Ohio farmer sells two tractors at auction

BATAVIA, Ohio — An Ohio farmer auctioned off several pieces of farm machinery at his property in late March. Auctioneer Mike Brown reports that the highlights were a Case IH 5130 tractor with a 520 loader. The 4WD loader has an 8-foot material bucket and weights. It sold for $27,800.

Also selling was a Massey Ferguson 1805 4WD with a remanufactured 3208 CAT engine. It brought $5,600.

For more information on the March 21 auction, contact Mike Brown at 513-532-9366.