Farmland values on the rise

Nov 30, 2021

By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com, Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash

We all know that the real estate market has been going nutsy-fagan recently for both urban and rural properties both here in Canada and for our southern neighbours.

Case in point: US$6-million (~CDN$7.667-million) in sales recognized for four farmland properties in South Dakota.

It’s not investors hoping to one day cash in on selling current urban farmland when the city next door decides it needs to expand—we are talking about South Dakota, and besides there are indeed many imposed city limitations about urban land gobbling.

No, instead to hear it from one of the auctioneers discussing the Codington County sales: “It’s good dirt.”

Sold:

154.6 acres featuring 144 cropland acres with a Corn Suitability Rating (CSR) of 90.4 (out of 100) fetched US$1.78-million (~CDN$2.275-million) or US$11,500 (~CDN$14,700) an acre;
148.58 acres with 146.83 cropland acres and a CSR of 85. It sold US$1.6 million (~CDN$2.044-million) or US$11,000 (~CDN$14,050) an acre;
142.47 acres of 142 acres of cropland and an 86 CSR sold for US$1.7 million (~CDN$) realizing US$12,000 (~CDN$) per acre;
79.5 acres with 68 cropland acres and a CSR of 74 was sold for US$874,500 (~CDN$1,121-million) or US$11,000 (~CDN$14,100) per acre.

Expected sales were for approximately US$8,000 to $10,000 (~CDN$10,250 to $12,800) an acre, so the realized $12,000/acre (~CDN$15,400) peak was a good surprise.

Driving factors for the higher monies per acre are low interest rates and a limited supply in South Dakota, plus a steady price realization for crops over the next couple of years.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.