MWA Auctions Illinois Farm for $14.9 Million

By: Murray Wise Associates via Business Wire

December 04, 2023 at 07:10 AM EST

Murray Wise Associates (MWA) announced today that it recently helped a client secure $14.9 million for 860 acres of farmland in Moultrie, Piatt, and Douglas Counties, Illinois.

"At $17,325 per acre, the sale is at the top end of farmland transactions for the area," said Eric Sarff, MWA’s president.

The farm was offered in 11 separate tracts via the multi-parcel auction method, with all tracts selling to one buyer.

“The multi-parcel method allows buyers to bid on any tract, or combination of tracts, and I believe it gives buyers more flexibility than other sales methods,” Sarff explained. “It also helps sellers achieve maximum results by enabling bidders of individual tracts to compete against larger buyers seeking big assemblages of acreage.”

This proved to be true during the auction, which included bids from potential buyers looking to acquire individual tracts and smaller combinations of tracts. Ultimately, the farm was worth the most money as one unit.

“This region is well-known for having productive soils and high-quality farmers,” said MWA vice president Elizabeth Strom, who oversaw the auction process. “When a farm comes up for sale in this area, there is always fierce competition.”

The sales price that MWA achieved illustrates the continued strength of the Illinois farmland market, according to Strom.

“Even with higher interest rates and lower commodity prices relative to a year ago, we continue to see strong demand for farmland in the state,” she said. “It’s an asset class that continues to be viewed favorably by both farmers looking to add to their existing operations and investors seeking to balance their portfolios with hard assets that produce steady income.”

MWA, which is headquartered in Champaign and has a satellite office in Clarion, Iowa, is a leading national agricultural real estate auction and brokerage company. The company also provides management services for farmland assets. MWA was acquired by 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.