Over a lifetime of careful acquisitions, Philip Rietveld built a portfolio of nearly 1,500 acres of productive farmland across Illinois and Indiana.
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Rietveld → build → Illinois
After his death in 2026, his family moved to sell the holdings through a two-day, two-state auction that drew bidders from seven states.
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that → move → states
The 23 tracts changed hands for a combined $22.46 million, with one 39.9-acre Indiana parcel commanding a striking $32,600 per acre, according to reporting on the sale by Agriculture.com.
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parcel → change → Agriculture.com
A strategic two-state auction
The sale was handled by Geswein Farm and Land, a brokerage with nearly five decades of experience in agricultural real estate.
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sale → handle → estate
Rather than listing all the parcels in a single marathon event, the firm split the auction across two days and two states in the first week of September.
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firm → list → September
This approach was designed to give each local market its own moment while keeping the entire portfolio in view as one major regional land event.
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approach → design → event
Johnny Klemme of Geswein said the strategy aimed to reduce buyer fatigue and keep attention focused on the land, according to Agriculture.com.
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attention → say → Agriculture.com
By separating the Illinois and Indiana portions, the company hoped to encourage competitive bidding in each state without overwhelming participants.
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company → separate → participants
Klemme described the event as one of the largest in the firm’s history and said the results exceeded even their most optimistic expectations, as per the report.
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results → describe → report
The numbers behind the sale
In total, 1,477.5 acres sold for $22,458,078, producing a combined average of $15,200 per acre across the portfolio.
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acres → sell → portfolio
The Illinois side included 15 tracts covering 856.84 acres, which generated 197 bids and brought $9,479,881, or about $11,064 per acre.
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which → include → acre
Prices on those parcels ranged from $8,600 to $16,100 per acre, reflecting differences in location, size, and soil productivity.
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Prices → range → location
Eight tracts totaling 620.72 acres attracted 539 bids and sold for $12,978,197, or roughly $20,908 per acre.
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tracts → total → acre
Individual Indiana prices ranged from $16,600 to the headline $32,600 per acre.
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prices → range → acre
Klemme noted, as per the report, that every Indiana tract sold at the high end of what the team had anticipated, with the top result standing out even in a strong market.
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result → note → market
Who bought the land
The auction drew 82 registered bidders from Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington.
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auction → buy → Florida
Despite the national interest, no institutional investors purchased any of the tracts.
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investors → purchase → tracts
One regional land investment group acquired property on the Illinois side, while the remaining buyers were largely local or regional farmers and landowners looking to expand their operations or secure long-term assets, as per the report.
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buyers → acquire → report
In the end, 13 buyers purchased the 15 Illinois tracts, and just two buyers acquired all eight Indiana tracts.
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buyers → purchase → tracts
Klemme said these were mostly regional participants who understood the local landscape and were willing to bid aggressively, the report suggested.
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report → say → landscape
Their knowledge of nearby development, rezoning potential, and farm performance likely influenced how they valued each parcel.
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they → influence → parcel
The man behind the portfolio
The land was held in the Philip Rietveld Trust.
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land → hold → Trust
According to Klemme, Rietveld assembled the holdings over his lifetime before passing away earlier in 2026.
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Rietveld → accord → 2026
Though he did not farm the ground himself, he was intentional about where he bought and had a clear sense of what made a high-quality farm.
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what → farm → farm
His tenants maintained the properties well, many of them renting the same fields for years, according to the report by Agriculture.com.
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many → maintain → Agriculture.com
The farms shared several attractive features, including paved road frontage, locations near towns, and similar soil profiles and productivity indexes.
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farms → share → towns
That consistency made the portfolio easier to market as a cohesive set of assets while still allowing each tract to be evaluated on its own merits.
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tract → make → merits
For buyers, the combination of location, maintenance and soil quality made for an attractive package.
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combination → make → package
According to the report by Agriculture.com, Klemme said fundamentals such as strong locations, well-maintained fields and productive soils were key reasons for the sale’s performance.
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fundamentals → accord → performance
He also cited less tangible factors, such as local knowledge about future development or nearby land-use changes that may not be as obvious to outsiders.
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that → cite → outsiders
In transitional areas, farmland values are not always based on traditional agricultural economics alone.
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values → base → economics
Buyers often view farmland through multiple lenses, including farm expansion, income generation, inflation protection, long-term wealth preservation, development potential and legacy ownership.
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Buyers → view → expansion
Unlike many other assets, farmland is finite, which adds to its appeal for families seeking to build or preserve wealth across generations.
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which → add → generations
Klemme noted that each sale represents the closing of one family’s chapter and the start of another’s.
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sale → note → another
How the sale compares to statewide averages
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sale → compare → averages
The Rietveld farms sold above statewide averages in both Illinois and Indiana.
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farms → sell → Illinois
According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Illinois farm real estate averaged $9,250 per acre in 2026, up 3.6 percent from the previous year and marking the sixth consecutive year of at least a 2.4 percent annual increase.
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estate → accord → increase
The Illinois tracts in this auction, with prices from $8,600 to $16,100 per acre, sat at or above that benchmark depending on location and quality.
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tracts → sit → location
In Indiana, Purdue University’s Farmland Values and Cash Rent Survey showed more mixed results in 2026.
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Survey → show → 2026
Top-quality farmland averaged $14,909 per acre, up slightly from 2025, while average-quality and poor-quality land saw modest declines.
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land → average → declines
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
