A Thursday auction in central Illinois is a reminder of what can happen when two highly motivated buyers compete for the same high-quality ground. The farm in question for the Feb. 19 auction featured 270 total acres split evenly in half. It was located two miles east of New Berlin, Ill., in rich Sangamon County. The 270 acres carried a Productivity Index of 142.4 with 147 the maximum per Bulletin 811. The ground was basically 100% tillable.
Tract 1 sold for $15,500 per acre and Tract 2 brought $15,000 per acre. A portion of the family involved in the trust that was selling the ground bought the ground back.
A similar situation developed for the next two tracts. These consisted of 162 total acres split evenly in half. The whole farm PI was 137. The ground was located northeast of New Berlin. But the two tracts differed in that the north 81 acres was flat and all tillable. The south half had four waterways in it. A neighboring landowner with ground on both sides of the property bid aggressively with family members for the north tract. It sold for $15,300 an acre. The south tract brought $10,200 an acre.
Handling the auction was Daniel Sheehan of Heartland Ag Croup of Springfield, Inc., Rochester, 217-498-9660.
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