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Land sales continue strong upward pace in Q1 of 2022
A farm real estate expert says high commodity prices and better yields last fall has created a sellers’ market for farmland.
Randy Dickhut with Farmers National Company says the competitive market has led to record demand for farmland in the last six months. “Land prices started to take off and with those higher land prices the more people, mainly non-operating landowners, decided to sell.”
He tells Brownfield the dollar value of sales increased 130 percent and the number of acres sold was up 106 percent in the last six months. “Because of COVID, some renewed interest in owning farmland and also because of supply chain issues and the importance of food and ag,” he says. “And, in this quarter the war in Ukraine has focused the world’s attention on the food supply.”
Dickhut tells Brownfield today’s land market is reflective of 2012-13. “There was some $7 corn and significantly priced soybeans, and expenses weren’t quite up as much as they are now so that prompted strong increases then.”
He says the number of auctions held by Farmers National Company increased 65 percent last year and the value of land in many areas hit record-highs in 2022.
