Greene County, Iowa Farmland Sales: 2025 Full-Year Review and 2026 Early Data

Greene County, Iowa, delivered one of its most active farmland markets on record in 2025, with 58 courthouse-verified sales totaling more than $62.3 million across 4,840 acres. The data tells a story of a county finding its footing at a new price plateau — one where $13,000 per acre is increasingly the floor for quality ground, and exceptional parcels are pushing well past $15,000.

The Numbers at a Glance

The 58 sales recorded in Greene County during 2025 produced a median price of $13,109 per acre and an average of $12,581 per acre, reflecting a market that is broadly strong but with meaningful spread between high-CSR and lower-productivity ground. Total transaction volume reached $62.3 million, making 2025 the most active year in the county's recent history by dollar volume.

The 2026 data — nine sales through early April — is consistent with 2025's pace and pricing, suggesting the market has not softened materially heading into spring.

The Sale That Stood Apart

The single most notable transaction of 2025 was 2025-37-04-013, a 100-acre parcel in Junction Township that sold for $2,590,000 — or $25,900 per acre — on March 10, 2025. The legal description reads PtWfr½ 4-84-29W, and the parcel carried a CSR2 of 82.1, which is solid but not exceptional for that price. This sale was a significant outlier and likely reflects competitive bidding, a motivated buyer, or specific locational factors that aren't visible in the deed alone. It is the kind of sale that sets a new ceiling in a county's price history and tends to anchor expectations for neighboring ground in subsequent years.

The next four highest sales by price per acre were more representative of what premium Greene County ground commands:

These four sales — all between $15,600 and $17,200 per acre — represent the realistic ceiling for well-rated Greene County ground in 2025. The CSR2 scores on three of these four parcels are in the low-to-mid 80s, which is strong for a county whose average CSR2 hovers around 75.

Township-by-Township Breakdown

Of Greene County's 16 townships, 13 had sale activity in 2025, and the price variation among them is meaningful — understanding which townships are trading at a premium is essential for anyone appraising, buying, or selling in the county.

The northern and central townships — Hardin, Willow, Junction, Dawson, and Greenbrier — consistently traded above $13,000 per acre. Bristol and Cedar, which together accounted for 15 of the 58 sales, averaged in the $11,000–$12,000 range, reflecting a mix of soil quality and parcel sizes. Grant Township's two sales averaged just $6,690 per acre, but one of those was a 138-acre parcel with a CSR2 of 69.0 that included some lower-productivity ground, pulling the average down considerably.

The Cedar Township Cluster

One of the more interesting patterns in the 2025 data is a cluster of six sales in Cedar Township on May 20, 2025 — all recorded on the same day. These ranged from 39 to 134 acres and priced between $7,053 and $13,264 per acre, with CSR2 scores spanning 61.0 to 83.8. This kind of same-day cluster typically indicates an estate settlement or a multi-parcel auction where a single seller offered several tracts simultaneously. The price spread across those six parcels — nearly $6,200 per acre from lowest to highest — illustrates how dramatically soil quality drives value even within the same township and the same sale event.

2026 Early Reads

The nine sales recorded in Greene County through early April 2026 are encouraging. The median of $12,489 per acre and average of $12,031 per acre are slightly below 2025's full-year figures, but that is partly a function of the small sample and the mix of parcels. The highest 2026 sale so far — 2026-37-04-001, a 77-acre Dawson Township parcel at $15,844 per acre with a CSR2 of 79.3 — suggests that demand for quality ground remains firm.

The 2026 data also includes a 148.9-acre Hardin Township sale at $12,283 per acre (CSR2 77.4) and a 77-acre Scranton Township sale at $13,247 per acre (CSR2 84.2), both consistent with the 2025 price range for comparable ground.

What This Means for Greene County Landowners

Three takeaways stand out from this dataset.

Quality commands a significant premium. The spread between the best and worst ground in Greene County is enormous — from under $3,000 per acre for low-CSR parcels to over $25,000 for exceptional tracts. Landowners with CSR2 scores above 80 are operating in a different market than those with scores in the 50s or 60s.

The $13,000 floor is real for quality ground. Across the most active townships, parcels with CSR2 scores in the mid-70s to low-80s are consistently clearing $13,000 per acre. That threshold, which would have seemed aggressive just a few years ago, now appears to be the baseline expectation for well-rated Greene County farmland.

Volume is high. Fifty-eight sales in a single county in a single year is a substantial number. That level of transaction activity reflects both motivated sellers — estates, out-of-state owners, corporate restructurings — and a deep pool of local and institutional buyers willing to pay current prices.

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All sale data is courthouse-verified and sourced directly from Greene County deed records. Every transaction listed here is searchable on LandSleuth — filter by Greene County to see full parcel details, buyer and seller names, legal descriptions, and CSR2 scores.

— Greg Conrad, The Land Sleuth