No surge in land or equipment prices likely, experts say

WEST FARGO, N.D. — There’s only one direction for land prices, and that is up, predicted a panel of agricultural land and equipment sellers. A panel comprised of Lindsey Brown, of Peoples Company; Devin Deile, of Ulmer Auctions; Dennis Biliske, of Resource Auction; Ryan Thompson, of Big Iron Auctions; and Don Aberle, Titan Machinery used equipment sales manager, discussed questions about land and used machinery sales in the Agweek 360 Building at the Big Iron Farm and Construction Show on Tuesday, Sept. 15. ADVERTISEMENT “I don’t think land prices will drop, especially with an increase in farm prices,” Brown said. Land is a non-renewable resource, which makes it more precious than gold, Biliske said. But the value of land is not always commensurate with the price it fetches. “When good land is high, poor land is really, really high,” he said. While purchases of land by outside investors has been as much as a 70% rate, compared to 30% farmer purchases in the 37 states where Peoples Company does business, the ratio is nearer to 50-50 “up here," Brown said. But Aberle said the majority of his customers are more likely to sell their farmland to a neighbor than to an outside investor. Biliske noted outside investors, such as Bill Gates, have purchased land in North Dakota, but that 80% of the sales are to farmers. ADVERTISEMENT “That neighbor farmer is going to be your best buyer," Biliske said. A new twist in land sales is investors who buy land aligning with producers to farm the land, Thompson said. Just as demand for land is constant, so is demand for farm equipment, the panelists said. In Biliske's 42 years in the farm auction business, there has never been a time when there was not demand because farmers need to replace equipment. However, there are times when farmers can’t afford to buy equipment. “The ability to buy the equipment is the thing that affects the market,” not demand, Biliske said. During a “buyer’s market,” equipment purchases are more of a need than a want,” Deile said. ADVERTISEMENT “I need to update," he said. Essential pieces of equipment that farmers need to buy are planters, tractors and combines. Combines rapidly increase in price, making them a good piece of equipment for resale, Biliske said. “If there’s something that people should be paying attention to, it is combines. It will pay dividends for you — big, big dividends,” he said. Equipment that has precision agriculture technology also adds value, Aberle said. Precision agriculture also makes farmers’ land more valuable because they can use the technology to maximize production. Neither land or machinery prices likely will see a surge in the next two years, the panelists predicted. ADVERTISEMENT Equipment prices will rise slowly in 2027 and be stronger in 2028, Aberle said. Thompson expects equipment prices to be steady and slightly stronger in the near future. Biliske doesn't expect there to be any big uptick or downturn in land prices.