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FORT DODGE — Approximately 430 acres of farmland in Iowa’s Boone and Webster counties sold on Feb. 22, at prices nearing $10,000 per acre as more than 100 people turned out for the Murray Wise Associates auction of property, owned by the Strand Trust. The

By Staff | Mar 1, 2012

FORT DODGE – Approximately 430 acres of farmland in Iowa’s Boone and Webster counties sold on Feb. 22, at prices nearing $10,000 per acre as more than 100 people turned out for the Murray Wise Associates auction of property, owned by the Strand Trust.

The land sold in five tracts, to four bidders, two farmers and two individual investors, who intend to lease the land to local farmers, said John Kirkpatrick, who manages Iowa operations for Murray Wise.

The total sale price was $3,895 million.

“We had 40 registered bidders and there was good competition for all the land, resulting in prices that were well above the recently appraised values,” said Kirkpatrick.

“The sellers, for whom we had been managing this land, decided that with the recent appreciation in land values it was time to liquidate their investment, and the results exceeded their expectations.”

Just over half the land – 220 acres – went to two local farmers, who paid an average of $9,681 per acre.

“The prices paid pretty much followed the corn suitability rating for the various tracts, which tells me that the buyers are people who understand the fundamental business and who have the fullest appreciation of the value of the land.

The prices were strong, but the focus was clearly on value rather than speculation,” said Kirkpatrick.