Jay County farmland auction draws capacity crowd as land sells for $3.73 million

PORTLAND, Ind. (March 22, 2011) -- Midwestern tillable farmland continued to show strength Monday as a capacity crowd jammed into the Jay Community Center for the auction of 492.9 acres near Portland.

A field of 38 bidders competed vigorously for the land, resulting in a sale for a total of $3.73 million.

"We're continuing to see strength across the board in demand for quality land, and there's no sign of that abating as farmers and investors continue to compete. Yesterday, the farmers got the upper hand, but competition from investors definitely played a role," said R.D.Schrader, president of Schrader Real Estate & Auction Company, which marketed the land and conducted the auction.

Most of the land -- 413.8 acres -- went to a family for $3.24 million, or an average of $7,829 per acre. The remaining 79.1 acres sold for $490,000, or $6,194 per acre, according to Schrader.

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