A vast collection of agricultural land spanning Illinois and Indiana has been sold for a total of $22.46 million following the death of its owner, Philip Rietveld. The portfolio, which consisted of nearly 1,500 acres, was liquidated through a two-day auction process that drew significant interest from regional bidders across seven states.
The sale, managed by the brokerage firm
Auction Results and Market Performance
The 1,477.5 acres sold during the event achieved a combined average price of $15,200 per acre. The Illinois portion of the portfolio, comprising 15 tracts and 856.84 acres, generated 197 bids and reached a total of $9.48 million, averaging roughly $11,064 per acre. Prices for these specific parcels ranged between $8,600 and $16,100 per acre.
The Indiana properties saw even higher demand. Despite covering a smaller area of 620.72 acres across eight tracts, the land attracted 539 bids and sold for nearly $13 million. This resulted in an average price of $20,908 per acre, with individual parcels fetching between $16,600 and a peak of $32,600 per acre. According to Johnny Klemme of Geswein Farm and Land, the results for the Indiana tracts exceeded the firm's initial projections.
Buyer Demographics and Land Valuation
The auction attracted 82 registered bidders from a wide geographic range, including Iowa, Florida, and Washington. Despite this national interest, the buyers were primarily local or regional farmers and landowners rather than institutional investors. Only one regional investment group secured property, while the remaining tracts were purchased by 15 individual buyers who demonstrated a deep understanding of local soil productivity, potential rezoning, and development opportunities.
The sale prices for the Rietveld holdings consistently outperformed statewide benchmarks. In Illinois, where the average farm real estate value was recorded at $9,250 per acre in 2026, the auction parcels traded at or above that figure. The Indiana results were even more pronounced, significantly exceeding the 2026 state average of $14,909 per acre for top-quality farmland. Industry experts attribute this performance to the high quality of the soil, the maintenance of the fields, and the strategic location of the land near established towns.
