June 2026 Wallace’s Farmer MarketPlace Extra

How did your spring season compare to recent years?  You may not have observed the exact same thing in your neck of the woods, but to me, spring planting 2026 seemed a little more spread out.  We didn’t plant everything in a condensed wham, bam, 10-day window, slam.  There were more weather-induced starts and stops, which staggered things, and overall, the season seemed a little less intense.  As a result, we should have a wider corn pollination window this summer, and a likely leadup to harvest with spaced maturities, instead of every field being simultaneously ready this fall. 

I think much the same can be said of the Iowa farmland market – things seem to be operating pretty smoothly.  Not perfect, but stable.  As I’ve written across recent months, there are fewer farms for sale right now, compared to a couple years back.  And there is still plenty of demand for/interest in those farms that are coming to today’s market.  Farmers continue to make up the buyer-majority, but non-farming investors also have interest in most farms of quality. This is especially true for non-farming investors who remain concerned about inflation, and/or the current geo-political environment. 

The timing may be just right for non-farming investors, as one market adjustment that our professionals at Hertz Farm Management have slowly seen reemerge in recent months, is discussion around – and interest in – sale-leasebacks.  If a farming operation has tight/tightening finances, some are considering the sale of a piece of farmland to a non-farming investor, with the right to continue farming it.  This allows the farmer-seller to tidy up finances, with minimal disruption to the scope of their operation.  In some cases, the farmer-seller can also negotiate for the first right to purchase the farm back, should the investor want to sell the property in the future.  Sale-leasebacks are not necessarily common.  However, in the sale-leasebacks I’ve observed, they’ve been win-win situations.  And, as I’ve talked with farm lenders this spring, this approach to operational recapitalization has strong merit – especially for those who have seen working capital erode more than they would like over the past 2 to 3 years.  In comparison to working capital levels, the Iowa farmland market continues to provide ongoing strength and stability, as reflected in the sales below.

NORTHWEST

Cherokee County:

Located southwest of Cherokee, 116 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $14,100 per acre. The farm consisted of 107 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 (Corn Suitability Rating index) of 83.0, and equaled $184 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTH CENTRAL

Butler County:

Located west of Shell Rock, 76 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $19,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 74 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 87.8, and equaled $222 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

NORTHEAST

Buchanan County:

Located east of Quasqueton, 39 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $16,200 per acre. The farm consisted of 38 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 82.6, and equaled $201 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

WEST CENTRAL

Sac County:

Located west of Sac City, 97 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $13,600 per acre. The farm consisted of 86 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 85.0, and equaled $181 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

CENTRAL

Hardin County:

Located northeast of New Providence, 60 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $13,500 per acre. The farm consisted of 57 +/- cropland acres with a CSR2 of 87.2, and equaled $163 per CSR2 point on the cropland acres.

EAST CENTRAL

Linn County:

Located north of Central City, 158 +/- acres recently sold for $11,600 per acre. The farm consisted of 138 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 71.6, and equaled $186 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres. Note: The non-tillable acres were comprised of waterways, timber, and a small creek.

SOUTHWEST

Pottawattamie County:

Located east of McClelland, 111 +/- acres recently sold for $8,000 per acre. The farm consisted of 100 +/- tillable acres with an average CSR2 of 58.6, and equaled $152 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.  Note: The non-tillable acres were comprised of terraces and timber.

SOUTH CENTRAL

Madison County:

Located south of Winterset, 149 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $9,500 per acre. The mix-use farm consisted of 94 +/- tillable acres with an average CSR2 of 77.2, along with 31 +/- acres enrolled in CRP that paid $143/enrolled acre, and 24 +/- acres of timbered draws and waste.  

SOUTHEAST

Louisa County:

Located northeast of Winfield, 79 +/- acres recently sold at public auction for $21,050 per acre. The farm consisted of 79 +/- tillable acres with a CSR2 of 88.4, and equaled $238 per CSR2 point on the tillable acres.

Doug Hensley is President of Hertz Real Estate Services at Hertz Farm Management, a leading farmland brokerage and management firm serving landowners across the Midwest. The company specializes in farmland sales, farm management, and agricultural appraisals. Call us at 800-593-5263  or visit hertz.ag.

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