Is Now a Good Time to Sell Land in Nebraska?


By Luke Huddleston | Marshall Land Brokers and Auctioneers marshallauction.com

Pivot-irrigated cropland in Phelps County, Nebraska

I received a call not long ago from a broker friend who is working with a buyer that knows exactly what he wants. He is looking for 800 to 1,000 acres of quality pivot-irrigated cropland in Phelps County, five or six quarters, and he wants them now. He is building a feedlot operation, and he needs the irrigated acres around it to make the whole thing work: corn silage in the fall, manure spreading in the spring, a self-sufficient operation built on good ground. He is not shopping. He is buying.

That call is why I am writing this. If you own pivot-irrigated ground near Holdrege, Loomis, Bertrand, Funk, Atlanta, Elm Creek or Axtell, there is a motivated, qualified buyer looking for your land today.

Is now a good time to sell farmland?

The short answer is yes, especially if you own irrigated ground in central Nebraska.

Here is what I am seeing in the market. Overall Nebraska farmland values have softened modestly over the past two years, down about 1% to a statewide average of $3,905 per acre as of February 2026, according to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 2026 Farm Real Estate Market Survey. That is off the record of $4,015 set in 2024. Some headlines will make that sound like a reason to wait. I would view it the opposite.

When the market cools slightly, the sellers who move decisively are the ones who capture the strongest prices, before further softening and before interest rates shift buyer behavior again. The same UNL survey confirms that financially strong buyers are still active and that tight land supply continues to support values. Your window to sell into a competitive environment is not unlimited.

What is my land worth right now?

That depends heavily on what you own and where.

Not all Nebraska farmland is moving in the same direction. While some cropland categories have softened, pivot-irrigated ground in south-central Nebraska, particularly in Phelps County, continues to draw serious buyer interest. This is some of the most productive land in the state, and buyers who understand it know that.

Holdrege silt loam, Nebraska's official state soil, first identified in Phelps County in 1917.

What makes Phelps County ground worth a premium? A few things I have watched play out in this market for years:

The soil. Holdrege silt loam is Nebraska’s official state soil, designated by the state legislature in 1979. It was first identified right here in Phelps County in 1917 and covers roughly 1.8 million acres of south-central Nebraska. This is thick, dark-colored topsoil sitting on a clay-enriched subsoil, naturally fertile, well-drained, and ideally suited for high-yield corn and soybeans. As Phelps County’s own economic development notes, “Our Holdrege silt loam soils are among the most productive in the world.” There is a reason this ground has been farmed hard for over a century and still produces.

The water. Central Nebraska sits on one of the most reliable water positions in the entire Ogallala Aquifer system. Nebraska holds roughly two-thirds of the High Plains Aquifer’s total water storage, more groundwater than any other state in the country. Equally important, water levels in the central Platte Valley have actually risen in some localized areas, in contrast to declining levels seen in the southern and western portions of the aquifer across Kansas and Texas. When buyers from drier parts of the country look at certified irrigation rights in Phelps County, they see something increasingly scarce: dependable water backed by one of the nation’s strongest Natural Resources District management systems.

The market access. The ethanol plants and feedlots in this area pay a premium for local corn. You do not have to haul it far, and that matters directly to a buyer’s bottom line.

When should I sell my land?

The best time to sell is when a buyer is looking, and right now, one is.

I have been doing this long enough to know that perfect timing is a myth. You do not ring a bell at the top of the market. What you can do is respond when opportunity is standing in front of you. This buyer is motivated, he has financing, and he has chosen this area specifically, not just any Nebraska ground. He is choosing Phelps County because of the soils, the water, and the cattle infrastructure that surrounds it.

Nebraska ranks second nationally in total cattle inventory, with over 6 million head statewide according to USDA data. This is cattle country in every sense, and a buyer building a feedlot operation understands that better than most. Access to cattle, feed, and a proven market is exactly why central Nebraska continues to attract serious agricultural investment even as other regions soften.

How do I find land buyers in Nebraska?

You do not always have to find them. Sometimes they find you, if you are working with the right people.

The best land auctions in Nebraska are not just events. They are marketing campaigns that put your property in front of every qualified buyer in the region. Done right, a competitive auction creates urgency, transparency, and the kind of price discovery that a private listing rarely achieves. It also protects you. When bidders compete openly, you know you got the market’s best number, not someone’s best guess.

Beyond formal auctions, relationships matter. Our company has spent decades building connections with operators, investors, and families across central Nebraska and northern Kansas. When a buyer like this one calls me, I think immediately of the landowners I know who might be ready to have that conversation. That kind of matchmaking does not happen on a listing portal. It happens through trust built over years of doing business in the same communities.

Who should I call to sell my Nebraska land?

Call someone who knows this ground. Someone who has stood on it, sold it, and watched it trade across multiple market cycles.

At Marshall Land Brokers, we work in this region because local knowledge is what gets you the right price. We know the buyers who are active right now. We know what comparable sales have looked like across Phelps County. And we know how to run an auction that generates real competition, not just a transaction.

If you own pivot-irrigated cropland near Holdrege, Loomis, Bertrand, Funk, Atlanta, Elm Creek or Axtell, and you have been thinking about your options, now is a good time to pick up the phone.

Call Marshall Land Brokers at 308-234-6266 or visit marshallauction.com. Let’s talk about what your ground is worth.

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