Farmland sales

590 farm sales in September 2026. Tap a state, or see the biggest buyers and sales of the month.

Every farm sale on a map

548 sales in five states in the 12 months to each state's newest record priced more than 50% above their county's median.

227 of 4,081 bare farmland sales of 20 acres or more sold outside their county's usual price range.

The map loads here. Every unusual sale is also in the list below the map.
  • Under the usual range
  • Lower quarter
  • Middle half
  • Upper quarter
  • Over the usual range
  • Not judged
  • Unusual or among the largest 1%
  • Family and other deeds
  • Bigger dot, more acres

Sales: state transfer records of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Vermont. Newest records: IL Oct 31, 2026, IN Oct 31, 2026, WI Sep 30, 2026, NJ Jun 30, 2026, VT Oct 31, 2026. Section centers: BLM land survey. Town points: Census county subdivision gazetteer, ZIP points: Census ZIP code gazetteer. Map: USGS. Colour: price per acre against the county's own sales of bare farmland over 24 months. Pins sit at the section, township, town or county center, never on the parcel.

Unusual sales in this view

    Sales on these pages Other county land values

    Stand-out sales, September 2026

    Find your state or county

    Latest months

    September 2026

    Other county land values, not recorded sales: North Dakota (53 counties) and Kansas (103 counties) in the Farmland Atlas.

    Illinois farmland sale index

    Illinois farmland sale index

    What Illinois farm ground sold for, quarter by quarter, with the county mix held fixed. Sales through Oct 31, 2026, from the state's file of Nov 5, 2026.

    Illinois farm ground that sold from October 2025 to September 2026 brought about the same as a year earlier. The index stood at 151.6, 1.8% lower than in the 12 months before (90% range: 4.7% lower to 1.4% higher). 2018 = 100, so sale prices ran about 52% above 2018.

    151.6index, October 2025 to September 2026 (2018 = 100)
    -1.8%vs the 12 months before (range -4.7% to +1.4%)
    1,504sales in those 12 months, 101 counties in the whole series
    $10,200USDA NASS Illinois cropland value, 2026 (its own survey, not a sale)
    Illinois farmland sale index by quarter, 2018 = 100, with NASS cropland value on the same baseThe index runs from 105.2 in Jan to Mar 2018 to 152.6 in Jul to Sep 2026. NASS cropland value went from 100 in 2018 to 140.1 in 2026.801001201401602018’192020’212022’232024’252026
    • Sale index by quarter
    • 90% range
    • USDA NASS cropland value, once a year
    Illinois, 2018 = 100. NASS is its own survey, drawn on the same base for comparison only.

    By year, beside USDA

    By year, both on 2018 = 100
    YearSale index (90% range)NASS cropland value
    2018100.0 (the base year)100.0 ($7,280 an acre)
    201999.7 (96.7 to 102.8)100.3 ($7,300 an acre)
    202099.0 (96.1 to 102.3)100.3 ($7,300 an acre)
    2021108.5 (105.7 to 111.3)107.1 ($7,800 an acre)
    2022131.3 (126.8 to 136.2)119.5 ($8,700 an acre)
    2023143.7 (138.8 to 148.2)127.1 ($9,250 an acre)
    2024148.6 (144.0 to 152.5)131.2 ($9,550 an acre)
    2025154.6 (149.9 to 159.5)135.3 ($9,850 an acre)
    2026not a full settled year yet140.1 ($10,200 an acre)

    Since 2018 the sales have risen faster than the NASS survey value. The survey asks what ground is worth; the index is what sold, and buyers of bare ground that comes up for sale are not a sample of all cropland.

    By county

    Median price an acre of the same sales, by calendar year, with the number of sales. Under 5 sales, no median. Price to rent is the median sale price over the county's USDA NASS non-irrigated cash rent for the same year. Every recorded sale in a county is on its page in the Illinois list above.

    Loading the county table.

    Who bought

    Share of the index sales by the kind of buyer on the deed. "Companies" includes a family's own farm LLC or corporation, so a rising share is not the same as outside money.

    Who bought, share of index sales
    YearSalesIndividualsTrusts, estatesCompaniesPublic, other
    20181,45870.4%10.1%18.9%0.5%
    20191,35372.3%10.2%17.1%0.4%
    20201,53567.7%11.1%21.0%0.3%
    20211,99766.9%11.7%21.1%0.4%
    20221,75065.3%10.9%23.4%0.5%
    20231,46163.4%12.6%23.7%0.3%
    20241,42160.6%13.2%25.9%0.4%
    20251,43557.8%15.1%26.7%0.4%
    2026 through Oct 31, 20261,17761.9%13.8%24.0%0.3%

    Every quarter

    Show the 36 quarters
    Illinois index by quarter, 2018 = 100
    QuarterSalesIndex90% range
    Oct to Dec 202685withheld: fewer than 100 sales
    Jul to Sep 2026282152.6145.7 to 160.4
    Apr to Jun 2026321144.1131.2 to 155.5
    Jan to Mar 2026489159.2154.0 to 165.2
    Oct to Dec 2025412150.7144.9 to 156.4
    Jul to Sep 2025232156.2146.0 to 165.8
    Apr to Jun 2025332160.3154.0 to 167.0
    Jan to Mar 2025459151.1145.9 to 156.8
    Oct to Dec 2024440150.0144.5 to 155.7
    Jul to Sep 2024232153.2147.3 to 159.6
    Apr to Jun 2024343145.1138.1 to 152.3
    Jan to Mar 2024406146.0138.8 to 152.5
    Oct to Dec 2023452148.4141.4 to 154.9
    Jul to Sep 2023261138.3130.9 to 146.7
    Apr to Jun 2023300141.2134.1 to 147.4
    Jan to Mar 2023448147.0140.2 to 153.7
    Oct to Dec 2022484140.6134.4 to 147.5
    Jul to Sep 2022313133.8127.4 to 140.0
    Apr to Jun 2022420128.0122.0 to 134.8
    Jan to Mar 2022533122.9118.0 to 128.3
    Oct to Dec 2021671122.6118.5 to 127.0
    Jul to Sep 2021317108.3103.7 to 112.7
    Apr to Jun 202143299.695.4 to 104.1
    Jan to Mar 2021577103.3100.2 to 106.5
    Oct to Dec 2020558102.498.1 to 107.4
    Jul to Sep 202024295.189.9 to 100.7
    Apr to Jun 202029596.492.3 to 100.9
    Jan to Mar 2020440101.997.4 to 107.1
    Oct to Dec 2019389100.697.0 to 104.5
    Jul to Sep 201921897.792.8 to 103.3
    Apr to Jun 201933598.294.0 to 102.6
    Jan to Mar 2019411102.398.5 to 106.6
    Oct to Dec 2018406103.3100.0 to 106.6
    Jul to Sep 201824293.689.9 to 98.2
    Apr to Jun 201840097.994.6 to 101.2
    Jan to Mar 2018411105.2102.0 to 108.1
    How the index is built, and its limits
    • Which sales. Every Illinois transfer declaration for farm parcels that passes the same market-sale rule the Farmland Atlas uses: a deed type that normally carries a market price (no quit claims, gifts, court or sheriff deeds, trades), a whole interest, not between related parties, not exempt. Then: one parcel on the return, known acres, 20 acres or more, no "with buildings" flag, and $1,000 to $40,000 an acre. 13,503 sales from 2018 through Oct 31, 2026.
    • Why one parcel. Since about October 2025 the state's open data stopped giving acres for returns that cover several parcels, so including them would change what the index measures partway through. Every quarter uses one-parcel sales alike.
    • County mix held fixed. The index comes from a model of each sale's log price an acre with a county effect, a quarter effect and a tract-size band (20 to 40, 40 to 80, 80 to 160, 160+ acres). The quarter effects are the index. A county that sells more often in one quarter does not move it.
    • Ranges. The index is re-run 400 times on counties drawn at random with replacement; the 90% range is the middle 90% of those runs. Quarters with fewer than 100 sales are withheld.
    • Filing lag. Deeds are filed after the sale. Market sales on file for the last four quarters against the same quarter a year earlier: Jan to Mar 2026: 1,153 on file vs 1,056 a year earlier (109%); Apr to Jun 2026: 864 on file vs 868 a year earlier (100%); Jul to Sep 2026: 694 on file vs 628 a year earlier (111%); Oct to Dec 2026: 176 on file vs 1,004 a year earlier (18%). The latest quarter is always provisional, and so is any recent quarter under 85% of its year-earlier count.
    • What it is not. Not an appraisal of any farm. Quality of the ground (soil productivity, drainage, tillable share) is not in the record, so a quarter when better ground sold reads higher. Auctions, listed and private sales all count alike.
    • Other states.
      • Indiana (sales from 2022, 4,803 sales in 92 counties): held back because the typical 90% range is 15.2 points wide, more than 12; the latest settled quarter is 2026Q1; later quarters are still filling in.
      • Wisconsin (sales from 2021, 3,838 sales in 71 counties): held back because the typical 90% range is 21.1 points wide, more than 12.
    Questions about the index
    What does the farmland sale index measure?
    What Illinois farm ground has sold for, quarter by quarter, from the state's own record of every sale (the PTAX-203 transfer declarations on Illinois' open data portal). It counts arm's-length sales of bare land, 20 acres or more, one parcel per sale, and compares each county with itself, so a quarter when more of the sales came from high-priced counties does not read as a price rise. The four quarters of 2018 average 100.
    Why not just use the median sale price?
    Because the median moves with which counties happened to sell. From 2018 to 2025 the plain median of these sales went from $7,360 to $10,932 an acre (+48.5%), while the index, which holds the county mix and tract size fixed, went from 100.0 to 154.6 (+54.6%).
    How is this different from the USDA number?
    USDA NASS publishes one survey value a year for all Illinois cropland ($10,200 an acre in 2026), from what farmers and landowners report their ground is worth, sold or not. This index comes from sales that actually closed. The two are shown on the same base, side by side, and never mixed. Illinois' farm managers and appraisers (ISPFMRA) run a third, survey-based report; its numbers are not on this page.
    Why is the latest quarter marked provisional?
    Deeds are filed after the sale, so the newest months fill in late. For October to December 2026, 176 market sales are on file so far, against 1,004 for the same months a year earlier (18%). Until a quarter's count of sales catches up to the same quarter a year earlier (85% or more), and always for the latest quarter, the number is marked provisional and can change.
    How sure is the number?
    Each quarter carries a 90% range from re-running the index on counties drawn at random, with replacement, 400 times. The typical quarter's range is 10.9 points wide, so a move of a few points from one quarter to the next is mostly noise. The headline uses four quarters together for that reason; its range for the latest 12 months is 4.7% lower to 1.4% higher.
    Why are Indiana and Wisconsin not shown?
    Each state has to hold up on its own before it gets an index: enough sales every quarter, a range no wider than 12 points in the typical quarter, and recent quarters on file. Held back this run: Indiana: the typical 90% range is 15.2 points wide, more than 12; the latest settled quarter is 2026Q1; later quarters are still filling in; Wisconsin: the typical 90% range is 21.1 points wide, more than 12.
    Are buyer or seller names on this page?
    No. The public record carries names, but this page and its data file hold only counts, prices and acres. Buyer type (individual, trust or estate, company, public or other) comes from a word pattern on the buyer field, read in memory; no name is written anywhere.

    Index sources: Illinois Department of Revenue transfer declarations (PTAX-203), Illinois open data portal; USDA NASS land values and cash rents, Quick Stats. This product uses the NASS API but is not endorsed or certified by NASS. The index itself is a calculation by AGSIST. The Illinois farm managers and appraisers (ISPFMRA) run their own land value survey; it is not used here.

    All states and counties

    Illinois

    Illinois farmland sales by county

    Wisconsin

    Wisconsin farmland sales by county

    Indiana

    Indiana farmland sales by county

    Vermont

    Vermont farmland sales by county

    New Jersey

    New Jersey farmland sales by county

    Florida

    Florida farmland sales by county

    The number beside each county: sales of 10 acres or more in the last 12 months.

    Source: Illinois Department of Revenue, MyDec transfer declarations (PTAX-203), farm parcels, read Nov 3, 2026; Wisconsin Department of Revenue, electronic real estate transfer returns, farm and forest classes, read Oct 18, 2026; Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, sales disclosure forms (from STATS Indiana), farm parcels, read Nov 3, 2026; Vermont Department of Taxes, property transfer tax returns (published by VCGI), farm, forest and current use land, read Nov 3, 2026; New Jersey Division of Taxation, SR-1A deed abstracts with acres from the MOD-IV 2026 assessment list, farm lots (classes 3A and 3B), read Oct 29, 2026; Florida Department of Revenue, sale data files joined to the assessment roll, agricultural land (sale months, not days), read Nov 13, 2026.

    Sources and terms

    Every state

    A sale is listed when it carries a price and acres and a whole interest changed hands in a normal sale: gifts, family and related-party sales, quit claims, foreclosures and the like are left out, the same rule as Field Scout and the Farmland Atlas. Township and town are where the state places the sale; no parcel is pinned. None of this is an appraisal.

    Illinois

    A farm sale is a farm parcel on a MyDec transfer declaration. Left out: gifts, family and related-party sales and anything less than the whole interest.

    Wisconsin

    A farm sale is a transfer return for land in the farm or forest classes. Left out: gifts, family and related-party sales and anything less than the whole interest.

    Indiana

    A farm sale is a sale of land the county classes as farm. Left out: gifts, family and related-party sales and anything less than the whole interest. The date is the sale date on the disclosure form, and the town is the parcel's mailing town, placed at the middle of its ZIP code.

    Vermont

    A farm sale is a return where the land's use before or after the sale is an operating farm or timberland, or open land enrolled in current use. Left out: a buyer related to the seller, a return that claims a transfer tax exemption, transfers without pay, by divorce or by foreclosure, and part interests such as a share, a life estate, a lease or an easement.

    New Jersey

    A farm sale is a deed whose lot is classed farm, either the farmhouse lot or farmland-assessed land; acres are today's lot on the 2026 assessment list, which may not be the lot as it sold, and a deed whose lot is not on the list has no acres and is kept out of the middle. Left out: gifts and family sales, sales between related companies, part interests, tax liens, sheriff, bankruptcy and short sales, quit claims, government and charity transfers, deeds tied to a foreclosure, exchanges, token-price sales and sales that were not between a willing buyer and seller. The state's file names no buyer or seller.

    Florida

    A farm sale is land the assessment roll codes agricultural, timberland included. Left out: any deed the county property appraiser did not mark as a qualified sale. The files give the month of each sale, not the day, and name no buyer or seller.