by Tyne Morgan, AgWeb.com
An Iowa farmland auction in Sioux County, just outside Orange City, is resetting the top of the market. A 35.5-acre tract sold on Dec. 1 for $32,000 per acre, and Jim Rothermich of Iowa Appraisal says it’s the highest auction price he has recorded in the state.
“It is a 35-and-a-half-acre tract that goes for $32,000 an acre,” Rothermich says. “As far as my data goes, I keep track of all the land auctions in Iowa, that’s the highest. It set a new record yesterday in Iowa.”
He says the previous record was $30,000 per acre, also in Sioux County, set in November 2022, and he’s quick to point out that while Sioux County regularly posts some of Iowa’s biggest numbers, this one still stands apart.
“The last record is $30,000 an acre, and that is in Sioux County also back in Nov. 11, 2022,” Rothermich says. “So it’s not unusual to see those huge prices in Sioux County. It’s a heavy livestock and dairy county. They need those acres to apply animal waste, and they need the corn production to feed those animals. So it’s not unusual to see that, but that is definitely a high price — no doubt about it.”
A Farmer Bought the Land, Not an Investor
At a time when producers are watching margins and questioning who is really driving top-end land prices, Rothermich says this record isn’t attributed to a Wall Street fund or an out-of-state investor. According to the auctioneer, the winning bidder is a farmer, and the land is positioned to fit directly into an existing local operation.
“According to the auctioneer, it is a farmer buyer,” Rothermich says. “And the highest and best use of this farm is to raise corn and soybeans. I understand it is an adjoining landowner, and there again, it’s a heavy livestock area and dairy area. There’s some large dairies just right around there, and they’re going to use that land.”
That adjoining landowner angle matters in competitive auctions, where neighbor value — operational fit, access and scale — can turn into aggressive bidding when a tract comes up for sale.
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