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dizposition

Sell your farm & ranch

Cropland, pasture, and working ranches. Owner-operated or cash-rented, with water and mineral rights nobody has checked in a generation.

Farm & Ranch at a glance

Typical deal size
$500K – $15M
Lease structure
Owner-operated, or cash-rent lease to a tenant farmer
Typical term
1–5 years, often year-to-year
Escalations
Cash rent renegotiated at renewal
Tenant farmers on cash-rent leasesCrop-share arrangementsGrazing and pasture lesseesHunting and recreational leasesWind, solar, and telecom easementsIndependent operators

Overview

What farms & ranches are really worth

Our read

Farm and ranch land is valued on what it can produce and what else it could become. Soils, water, and tillable acreage set the agricultural value; proximity to growth sets the possibility that farming is no longer the highest use. Most owners know the first number well and underestimate how much the second can matter.

The land is also rarely just the land. Water rights, mineral rights, wind and solar leases, conservation easements, and government program contracts are layered on top, and in long-held family ground they are frequently undocumented or partially severed. Those rights can be worth more than the surface, and they can also bind a buyer for years.

Most of these sales are not about performance. They are about succession — an operator with no one to take over, or heirs who inherited land together and do not agree on keeping it. In that situation the structure of the sale, including whether the family keeps farming the ground under a lease, often matters as much as the price.

Valuation

How we underwrite it

The method

We underwrite productive capacity first: soils, yield history, tillable acreage, and water. In much of the country the water right or the well is the most valuable thing on the property, and we read the permits and priority dates before we read anything else.

Rights come next. We establish through title whether mineral, water, wind, and solar rights convey, and what is already leased or encumbered. Conservation easements and program contracts are priced together with the income or tax benefit they carry.

Existing tenancies are respected and underwritten as they are. Cash-rent leases, verbal year-to-year arrangements, and state termination deadlines all affect what a buyer can do and when.

Where a farm sits in the path of growth, we underwrite both the agricultural value and the realistic development timeline, and we are straightforward about which one is driving our number.

What moves the number

  1. 01Soil quality and productivity, which sets what the ground can grow and is the foundation of agricultural value
  2. 02Water — irrigation rights, wells, and their seniority or permitted volume — which in much of the country is worth more than the land it serves
  3. 03Tillable versus pasture, timber, and waste acreage, since deed acreage and productive acreage are rarely the same number
  4. 04Mineral, wind, and solar rights, and whether they convey or were severed by a prior owner
  5. 05Proximity to growth, which can make the highest and best use something other than farming
  6. 06Improvements — grain storage, irrigation equipment, fencing, barns, and housing — valued for what a buyer will actually use

Capital markets today

10-yr Treasury
5.24%
4.12% a year ago
SOFR
3.87%
4.2% a year ago
30-yr mortgage
7.28%
6.3% a year ago
CRE loan delinquency
1.53%
1.57% a year ago
CRE prices, YoY
6.58%
-2.7% a year ago

Sources: FRED DGS10, 2026-10-01 · FRED SOFR, 2026-10-01 · FRED MORTGAGE30US, 2026-10-01 · FRED DRCRELEXFACBS, 2026-04-01 · FRED COMREPUSQ159N, 2026-01-01

Diligence

What a buyer actually looks at in a farm & ranch

  1. Check 01

    Water rights, well permits, and irrigation records

    In prior appropriation states the priority date and permitted volume of a water right can be worth more than the land. Elsewhere, well capacity and irrigation history determine what the ground can produce.

  2. Check 02

    Soil survey and production history

    Soil productivity is what agricultural land is priced on. Yield history and the soil maps tell a buyer whether the acreage is what the listing says it is.

  3. Check 03

    Mineral, wind, and solar rights and any existing leases

    Rights are frequently severed from the surface in old conveyances. Whether they convey, and what is already leased, can move value in either direction.

  4. Check 04

    Existing farm leases and termination notice requirements

    Many states set specific deadlines for terminating a farm lease, and a missed deadline can mean the tenant stays another year. Verbal year-to-year leases are common and still binding.

  5. Check 05

    Conservation easements and USDA program contracts

    Conservation Reserve Program contracts and conservation easements restrict use for years or permanently. They carry income or tax benefit, and they also bind the buyer.

  6. Check 06

    Phase I environmental and on-farm fuel and chemical storage

    Fuel tanks, chemical mixing areas, dumps, and old livestock operations leave contamination that is inexpensive to test for and expensive to find later.

Backfill risk

What happens if the tenant leaves

The tenant-goes-dark scenario

Farmland does not have a backfill problem in the commercial sense. Productive ground with water rarely sits idle, because there is almost always a neighbor or a tenant operator willing to farm it. Cash-rent leases turn over by the season, and replacing a tenant farmer is usually a matter of a phone call and the right rent.

What drives value is what the ground can produce and what else it could become. Soils, water, and tillable acreage set the agricultural floor. Proximity to a growing town, a highway, or a utility corridor can set a ceiling well above it, and some of the most consequential sales are farms whose highest use has quietly changed.

The rights layered on the land matter as much as the land. Water rights, mineral rights, wind and solar leases, conservation easements, and government program contracts can each add or subtract real value, and in older family holdings they are frequently undocumented, partially severed, or misunderstood.

Most farm and ranch sales are driven by succession rather than performance. A retiring operator with no successor, or heirs who inherited the land together, is the most common seller in the sector — and the right structure, including selling and leasing back the ground, often matters more than the price.

Why this matters to you

Every buyer prices the tenant-goes-dark scenario, whether or not they say so out loud. It is the largest hidden input into the cap rate you get offered.

Understanding it before you go to market is the difference between negotiating and being negotiated with.

Who sells to us

Situations we see most often

  • Retiring farmer or rancher with no family member taking over
  • Heirs who inherited land together and do not agree on keeping it
  • Absentee owner who has cash-rented the ground for years and wants out
  • Family whose acreage is now in the path of development
  • Operator who wants to sell the land and keep farming it under a lease

Buy box

What we buy

  1. 01Farms, ranches, and agricultural land, $500K to $15M
  2. 02Estate and multi-heir sales
  3. 03Cash-rented ground with existing tenants
  4. 04Sale-leasebacks with operators who want to keep farming

Process

How selling to Dizposition works

The full process
  1. Day 0

    01

    Send us the property

    Address, asset type, and the lease if there is one. That is enough for us to start.

  2. 02

    We underwrite it

    Our underwriting runs the income against current market pricing and the cost of capital. No lowball anchor.

  3. 10 minutes

    03

    You get a firm offer

    In 10 minutes, with the math shown. You will know exactly how we got there.

  4. As fast as 30 days

    04

    Close on your timeline

    As fast as 30 days, or as slow as you need. We are the principal, so the date is yours.

FAQ

Selling a farm & ranch

I want to sell the land but keep farming it. Is that possible?

Yes. A sale-leaseback lets you take capital out of the land and continue operating under a lease. It is a common structure for operators who want liquidity or are planning a gradual transition.

My land is cash-rented to a neighbor. What happens to that lease?

The lease generally stays in place through a sale, and many states have specific deadlines for terminating a farm lease. Tell us the terms and whether it is written or verbal, and we will work around the tenant rather than over them.

I am not sure whether I own the mineral or water rights. Does that matter?

Quite a bit, and it is common not to know. Rights are often severed in old conveyances. A title search will tell us, and we would rather establish it early than have it surface at closing.

The land is in a conservation program. Can I still sell it?

Yes, but the contract or easement goes with the land and binds the buyer. We underwrite the restriction and the payments together. Send the contract so we can see the remaining term and terms of early exit.

How long does it take to sell a commercial property to Dizposition?

You get a firm written offer within 10 minutes of sending us the property. If you accept, you can close in as little as 30 days — most of that is title work and your own timeline. There is no listing period, no marketing, and no waiting on a buyer's financing contingency.

Can I sell my property as-is?

Yes. We are the buyer, so there is no lender requiring repairs and no inspection contingency to renegotiate against you. Deferred maintenance, a failing roof, an aging tank system — we price it into the offer rather than asking you to fix it first.

Can I sell with a tenant in place?

Yes, and in most cases a tenant makes the property more valuable to us, not less. We will ask for the lease, a rent roll, and any estoppel certificates. You do not need to deliver the property vacant.

What if my lease is short-term or about to expire?

Short remaining term is one of the main reasons owners come to us. A conventional buyer needs lease term to get financing, which is why short-dated assets sit on the market. We underwrite the real estate and the backfill prospects rather than the remaining term alone.

What if the property is vacant?

We buy vacant assets. Pricing shifts from an income approach to what the building and land are worth to the next user, which is a different calculation — but it is one we do routinely rather than one that disqualifies the property.

Do I need a broker to sell to you?

No. We buy directly, and there is no commission because there is nothing to market. If you already have a broker, we will pay them. Selling without one saves the commission, but you should understand you are also giving up price discovery — a broker's job is to find out whether someone will pay more than we will.

What documents do I need to get an offer?

The address and the lease are enough to start. To finalize, we will want the rent roll, the last two years of operating statements, the title commitment, any existing survey, and any environmental reports you already have. You do not need an appraisal or a broker package.

How do you determine your offer?

We underwrite in-place income against what the space would re-lease for, adjust for capital needs and any environmental tail, and apply a cap rate supported by comparable transactions. We show you the inputs. If you disagree with an assumption, we would rather argue about the assumption than about the number.

What are typical seller closing costs?

Title and escrow fees, any transfer or recording tax owed in your state, prorated property taxes, and payoff of any existing debt. Because we are the buyer, there is no commission and no marketing cost. Transfer tax varies significantly by state and is often the largest single line.

Will I owe capital gains tax when I sell?

Usually yes, on the gain above your adjusted basis, and depreciation recapture is taxed separately from appreciation. State treatment varies. This is a question for your CPA before you sign, not after — the structure of the sale can change the answer.

Can I do a 1031 exchange?

Yes. A 1031 exchange lets you defer federal capital gains by reinvesting in like-kind property, subject to a 45-day identification window and a 180-day closing window from the date you sell. You must have a qualified intermediary in place before closing — it cannot be arranged afterward. Most states conform to federal treatment, but a few do not.

Can I sell if I am behind on payments or facing foreclosure?

Yes, and speed is the reason to move early rather than late. We can close on a defined date, which is what a lender or a receiver generally needs to see. Send us the payoff figure and any notices you have received.

Can I sell a property I inherited or that is in probate?

Yes. Probate sales take longer because the court timeline governs, not ours, and multiple heirs need to agree on the price before anything can close. We are used to working around both. Inherited property also generally receives a stepped-up basis, which can change the tax math substantially.

What if there is environmental contamination?

Send it anyway. Environmental history is one of the most common reasons a conventional sale falls apart, and it is one of the reasons owners call us. We price the remediation and the residual liability into the offer rather than walking away at the Phase II.

Is there any cost or obligation to get an offer?

None. There is no fee, no listing agreement, and no obligation to accept. If our number does not work for you, you keep the underwriting we showed you and we part ways.

Markets

Top markets we buy farms & ranches in

10-minute offer

Ready to sell your farm & ranch?

Send us the property and the lease. You'll have a firm offer, with the math shown, in 10 minutes.