More Than 1,300 Acres of Iowa Farmland Will Hit the Auction Block in May 2025

According to farmland listing analysis completed by the Successful Farming team, more than 1,300 acres of Iowa farmland are set to be auctioned in May 2025. Planned sales range from single tracts of less than 100 acres to a sealed bid sale featuring just over 150 acres. Here’s a closer look at the farmland expected to change hands across 12 Iowa counties.

Keokuk County

The largest Iowa farmland auction of the month is set to take place in Keokuk County on May 15. Sealed bids will be accepted for two parcels totaling 151.88 acres. Tracts are available individually or in combination. All sealed bids will be required to be made on purchase contract forms provided by Hertz Real Estate Services.

Rachelle Heller of Hertz Farm Management will manage the sale on behalf of Strohman Family Farms LLC.

Both parcels are leased through the 2025 crop year. The buyer(s) will receive a second half cash rent credit at closing.

Crawford County

Just shy of 150 acres in northeastern Crawford County will sell in an online only auction scheduled for May 29. The single tract auction will soft close at 1:00 PM Central Time.

Iowa Land Company will handle the sale on behalf of Sunshine Farms of Iowa LLC. 

Land broker Matt Skinner described land ownership in the Crawford County area as “pretty tight.” He said, “In this immediate area there hasn’t been a whole lot for sale here in about the last 10 years.” He expects, “there’s going to be quite a few people talking with bankers and getting capital lined up to go after this one.”

Although Skinner anticipates the auction will see mostly farmer participation, he notes 1031 exchanges are not uncommon in the area and could be utilized here. “I could see a regional investor that is looking to cash rent out the farm being interested as well,” Skinner said, “One thing about Carrol and Crawford County, there’s an extreme force of capitalist, farmer oriented people out there that tend to make more income off the farm and bring that income back to the farm. Those people are interested in ground out in this area for the long term.”

The seller of the farmland is an engineer and installed a couple drainage projects on the farm, notes Skinner. In this hilly area, grass waterways and terraces are common soil conservation practices.

“There are some terraces on this farm that I think could be removed if somebody wanted to and let them farm a little straighter,” Skinner said.

The farm has 142.38 cropland acres and a CSR2 of 73. Marshall and Judson soils make up a majority of the tract.

The farm is leased for 2025. At closing the buyer will receive a prorated cash rent credit of $32,975.

Landwise Analytica, a start-up with a mission to modernize agriculture with data-driven insights, exclusively shared a yield history report for the property with Successful Farming. The company uses climate, soil, and landscape variables alongside satellite imagery in their proprietary artificial intelligence algorithms to estimate crop yields.

In 2022, the farm’s corn crop yielded over 256 bushes per acre, according to the report. That’s nearly 100 bpa above the county average corn yield for the year.

Landwise Analytica estimates soybean yield has ranged from 39 to 67 bpa over the past seven growing seasons. The county average has consistently been slightly over 50 bpa.

Other Farmland Sales

Several more farmland auctions are expected to be held across the state in May. 

Method of sale ranges from in person and online to sealed bids.

Several tracts are currently enrolled in CRP. A few parcels are primed for development with water and sewer connections available near the property. A 30 acre listing in Wayne County includes a horse facility.