CHAMPAIGN, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 11/16/12 -- The bull market in farmland rolled on unabated Thursday as approximately 750 acres of Illinois land sold to a local farmer for $8.2 million, or $10,947 per acre. Murray Wise Associates managed the sale.

The auction of land in McLean and Ford Counties attracted 50 registered bidders to the Bellflower Community Center in Bellflower.

"There was a great deal of competition for this land, with farmers and investors alike bidding on various combinations. Ultimately, it was a local operator purchasing the land, as we have seen on numerous occasions in recent months," said Joe Bubon, executive vice president of the auction company.

"Before the property finally sold as an entirety, bids on tracts varied from $9,500 to almost $12,000 per acre, with the most productive tracts achieving the best prices," said Bubon.

Murray Wise, chief executive officer of the company, said investors continue to be active bidders in auctions. "Right now, we're just in a period in which farmers tend to emerge as the last bidders most of the time, but with 50 bidders, the outcome is impossible to predict," said Wise.

"This market is for real, and nothing seems to faze it. Not a drought. Not pundits calling it a bubble. As long as the business case for farmland continues to make sense -- and it does -- farmland will continue to be a sound investment," said Wise.

About Murray Wise Associates LLC
Murray Wise Associates LLC, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with additional offices in Florida, Idaho and Iowa, is a leading national agricultural real estate marketing and auction company. The company also manages farmland assets for individual clients seeking to invest in Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Individuals seeking additional information may visit www.murraywiseassociates.com or call 217-398-6400.