MWA Completes $12.2 Million Farmland Sale, Showing Strength of Iowa Market

By: Murray Wise Associates via Business Wire

November 10, 2023 at 07:00 AM EST

Murray Wise Associates (MWA) announced today that the firm recently helped a client sell 980 acres of farmland in Greene County, Iowa, for $12,240,000.

The farmland auction consisted of several tracts, with total proceeds averaging nearly $12,500 per acre. Multiple tracts sold for more than $14,300.

Adam Meyer, the local MWA auction manager who oversaw the process, said that spirited bidding lasted more than two hours and included a variety of bidders, including local farmers and large outside investors.

“When you offer this many acres of high-quality soils, you are going to attract a lot of interest from many different types of buyers,” Meyer explained. “We talked with a lot of interested parties during the marketing campaign, and we were not surprised to see a good crowd on sale day.”

The 980 acres was offered at auction by the multi-parcel method of sale.

MWA founder Murray Wise explained the theory behind the sales method: “The multi-parcel method allows buyers to bid on any tracts, or combination of tracts, that they desire, and I believe it gives buyers more flexibility than any other sale method. It also allows smaller buyers of individual tracts to be competitive against larger buyers seeking to buy bigger assemblages of acreage.”

This proved to be true during the auction. At one point, a bidder placed a bid on the entire acreage, but ultimately the whole-farm bidder was outbid by buyers bidding on single tracts and combinations of tracts.

The strong prices garnered for the farm illustrate the resilience of the farmland market and that demand remains strong, said MWA president Eric Sarff.

“Despite some headwinds of higher interest rates and lower commodity prices as compared to a year ago, farmland remains an attractive asset class for both farmers and investors alike,” he said. “The stability of farmland and its ability to be used as a hedge in inflationary times has always drawn buyers to it.”

MWA, headquartered in Champaign, IL, with a satellite office in Clarion, IA, is a leading national agricultural real estate auction and brokerage company. The company also provides management services for farmland assets. MWA was acquired by FPI Agribusiness Inc., a subsidiary of Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI), in November 2021. Additional information: www.murraywiseassociates.com or (800) 607-6888.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to the outlook of Farmland Partners Inc. ("FPI") and Murray Wise Associates LLC ("MWA") and proposed and pending farmland auction, brokerage, financing and asset management activities. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "should," "could," "would," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" or similar expressions or their negatives, as well as statements in future tense. Although FPI and MWA believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, beliefs and expectations, such forward-looking statements are not predictions of future events or guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking information presented herein is made only as of the date of this communication, and FPI and MWA do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.