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In some ways, a farmland auction is a transaction not unlike buying a vehicle, or getting groceries. Before the auction, someone owns something someone else wants. At the end of the auction, the land belongs to someone else. But farmland is different, right? A family tended that field, cared for it, and nurtured it. Letting it go can be an emotional time.
I sensed that when reading the obituary of Rosella “Rosie” Smith, who died in June. She and her husband, Oscar, bought a farm northwest of Windom, Minnesota, in the 1940s. Oscar died in 1971, but the family – which by that time included five children – retained ownership of the farm until selling it September 9.
Rosie must have been quite a lady. She died at age 98. She was a wife, mother, and homemaker during her marriage to Oscar, and was known for her handiwork – sewing, and cooking, primarily, although her obituary says she loved catching walleyes, too. She was well-known for her “potato salad, Borscht, and fresh Zweiback rolls,” the tribute reads. She had 42 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She left an incredible legacy, all from that one farm in Cottonwood County. At the end of her obituary, one of her favorite quotes: “Life is good if you don’t weaken. And be kind to all.”
As of September 9, that property has a new owner. Another transaction, but one that means a lot to many people.
Dan Pike Auction Company sold the property at auction. Here’s more information about the sale:
The land is located about 5 miles south of Storden, or northwest of Windom. Of the 129.07 acres that sold, 127.1 acres are tillable. Soil types include Nicollet clay loam and Webster clay loam, and the tract has a Productivity Index of 91.1 (on a scale of 0 to 100). The land sits on a quarter-section, and the sale excludes about 30 acres of building site and pasture.
The land sold for $1.16 million, or $8,650 per acre. A local farmer bought the property.
“We were pleased with the result,” Pike says.
This was the first of two sales Dan Pike had this week. On September 10, he hosted another southwest Iowa farmland auction in Watonwan County. The tract was 141.17 acres, at $8,250 per acre for a total of $1.165 million.
“That was even more pleasing than the Smith estate sale,” Pike says.
The auction calendar is picking up for his firm, with three sales in the next week alone. “A variety of things are going on. Grain prices are good, interest rates are cheap, and if farmers have money to invest, land is a stable return,” Pike explains. “It is a lot stronger than what it was this past spring.”