Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Laurens Farmland Auctioned at $8980/Acre

An eighty acre farm field near Laurens sold today for $8980 per acre. The auction was held at the Amvets Hall in Havelock. About fifty people attended.

The property is bordered on two sides by roadways, leaving 76 acres of crops. Its corn suitability rating (CSR) is 80.2 which is high for Iowa farmland. The bid price is $112 per CSR point. Early this spring land at Rolfe sold for $101 per CSR point. Earlier this month Pocahontas land was auctioned at $106 per CSR point.

The land lies southeast of Laurens. It was owned by the children of Mary Kees and has been farmed by Bill and Christie Mather. It was purchased by Cindy Dubbert who lives nearby.

During the auction the price of corn was near $7 a bushel at the local markets. Soybeans were near $13. Both markets were up from the previous week.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Pocahontas Farm Auction: $8900/Acre

An eighty acre tract of flat farmland five miles south and four miles east of Pocahontas was auctioned this morning for $8900/acre. It was the Hermon Tjaden property, currently farmed by tenant Bob Beneke. The 2001 cash rent is $15,400, according the auctioneer's statement today.

Bidding was brisk. The auctioneer, Lowderman Auction and Real Estate, said there would be no breaks or timeouts. However he did pause after about five minutes of bidding to acknowledge the property "can be a little wet." Five minutes later the auction was complete.

The land is 80% Webster soil. The tract has a corn suitability rating (CSR) near 84. Pocahontas County's average CSR is only 74. The CSR system assumes drain tile has been added wherever necessary.

Dividing the bid price by the CSR yields a ratio of $106 per CSR point. Earlier this spring a 120 acre Rolfe parcel sold for $101 per CSR point.

One audience member left the auction saying, "I'm going home to put up some For Sale signs."

On auction day the local price for corn was $7.31; for soybeans, $13.75. Both prices are higher than in March when the Rolfe auction occurred.