Guide
Land specialist or your neighborhood realtor?
For farmland, hunting land or timber, hire an agent who sells land in your county often and knows your programs, access and buyers before you sign.
By Jordan Johnson, Founder, Kedron Co.Updated 7 min read
If you're selling farmland, hunting land or timber, hire an agent who sells land in your county often, whatever they call themselves. The title matters less than whether they can answer specific questions about your property, your programs and your buyers before you sign anything.
A good residential agent may sell land now and then, and an agent who calls themselves a land specialist may have sold very little. The only way to know is to ask. This guide is written for landowners in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa who are deciding who to call. It explains what the titles mean, what a land agent should know, and the questions that sort agents out in one conversation. It's part of our winning listings library.
What's the difference between the titles?
Real estate agent. Anyone licensed by the state to help people buy and sell property. Any licensed agent can list land.
Realtor. A licensed agent who is also a member of the National Association of REALTORS and has agreed to its Code of Ethics. As an Inman article that NAR republished puts it, "All Realtors® are real estate agents, but not all real estate agents are Realtors®" (NAR In the News, July 9, 2025). Being a realtor says nothing about whether the person sells houses or land.
Land specialist. Not a license or a formal designation. It usually means an agent or firm that sells mostly land. Some are excellent. Some use the phrase on a website and little else.
Accredited Land Consultant (ALC). A designation from the REALTORS Land Institute. RLI says ALCs are required to have at least two years of experience in land sales and a minimum of 25 land transactions or a set volume of closed land sales (RLI, Sept. 11, 2024). RLI has a search tool that can filter for ALCs. Many capable land agents don't hold it, so treat it as one sign among several.
What should a land agent know?
Land sales in the Upper Midwest turn on details a house sale rarely has. A good land agent should raise these with you before you raise them. This table lists the common ones and a question that tests whether the agent knows them.
| Topic | The rule | Ask the agent |
|---|---|---|
| CRP contract | A new owner has 60 days, or another period FSA sets, to become a successor to the contract. If not, the contract ends on that land and the prior participant refunds all payments plus interest and liquidated damages (7 CFR 1410.51) | "How do you handle CRP acres in a sale, and who gets this year's payment?" |
| Wisconsin Managed Forest Law | The buyer files a transfer form within 30 days, with a $100 fee (Wis. Stat. 77.88). If land left after a sale no longer meets program rules, it may be withdrawn with a withdrawal tax and fee (WI DNR) | "If I sell part of my MFL land, does the rest still qualify?" |
| Minnesota SFIA | The covenant "remains in effect" after a sale, and the seller must notify the Department of Revenue in writing within 60 days (MN Revenue, Jan. 2021) | "What does a buyer inherit with my SFIA covenant?" |
| Farm lease | In Iowa, a farm lease renews unless written notice goes out before Sept. 1 (ISU CALT, Aug. 2024). In Wisconsin, year-to-year agricultural tenancies need at least 90 days' notice (Wis. Stat. 704.19) | "When would I need to give my tenant notice to sell the farm open?" |
| Wisconsin vacant land disclosure | Sellers of land without buildings complete a Vacant Land Disclosure Report, which asks about subsoil conditions, conservation easements, farmland preservation agreements and boundary disputes. Buyers may be able to rescind if they don't get one (Wisconsin REALTORS Association, June 2018) | "Which disclosure form will I fill out, and what does it ask?" |
| Iowa surveys | A seller who divides land using a metes-and-bounds description must have a plat of survey made, with limited exceptions (Iowa Code 354.4) | "If I sell off part of the farm, do I need a survey, and who orders it?" |
| Minnesota wells | Well disclosure applies to real property, not just homes. The deed needs either a statement that the seller knows of no wells or a well disclosure certificate, and the county recorder charges $54 for a certificate (Minn. Stat. 103I.235) | "Is there an old well on the property, and how do we disclose it?" |
You don't need the agent to recite statutes. You need them to know these exist, raise the ones that apply, and send you to the right person (your attorney, accountant, surveyor, FSA office or DNR forester) for the answer.
When is a residential agent the right choice?
Sometimes the neighborhood agent is the better call, and a fair guide should say so.
- The property is really a home. A house on five acres at the edge of town is likely to sell to a home buyer. An agent who sells homes in that area may know those buyers better.
- The agent sells land regularly. If a residential agent in a rural county sells land every year, the title on their card doesn't matter. Their recent sales do.
- You have a relationship you trust, and the agent is honest about what they don't know and brings in help.
For farmland, hunting ground, timber, or any land with CRP, MFL, SFIA or a farm lease, look for an agent whose recent sales look like your property.
Does the agent reach your buyers?
The right agent is the one who can reach the people most likely to buy your land.
- Farmland buyers are mostly farmers. In Iowa, 68% of farmland sales in 2025 went to existing farmers, 26% to investors and 4% to new farmers (ISU Land Value Survey, December 2025). Ask the agent how they'll reach the operators around you.
- Hunting land buyers may live hours away. Wisconsin sold 790,044 deer hunting privileges by Nov. 30, 2025 (Wisconsin DNR), so the pool of hunters is large. A buyer who lives hours from your land will judge it from photos, aerial video, maps and film before deciding whether to drive out. Ask the agent to show you what that buyer would see.
- Timber buyers want to see the trees. Ask whether the agent has a forester they work with and how they'll show the timber.
Questions to ask any agent before you sign
Interview two or three agents and ask each the same questions. Specific answers win.
- What land have you sold in this county in the last two years? What did it sell for per acre?
- What do you think my land is worth, and which sales is that based on?
- Who do you think will buy it, and how will you reach them?
- What will the listing include: how many photos, aerial, film, a map, a written description? Can I see a recent example?
- What do you know about my CRP, MFL, SFIA or farm lease, and who should I talk to about it?
- Who answers when a buyer calls, and how fast?
- What will I hear from you each week?
- How long is the listing agreement, and what happens if I'm unhappy with how it's going?
- If it doesn't sell in the first 60 days, what will you change?
- Who else will be involved: surveyor, attorney, title company, forester?
An agent who sells land often will answer most of these without looking anything up.
Red flags
- A price well above everyone else's, with no sales to back it. Ask which sales support it. A number with nothing behind it is a guess, and you may pay for it in months on the market.
- No recent land sales they can name.
- A marketing plan that's a sign and an MLS entry.
- Surprise at your CRP or MFL, or a shrug about the tenant's lease.
- Pressure to sign today.
What to do next
Before you call anyone, gather your paperwork: the deed, any survey, your CRP contract or MFL order, the farm lease, and last year's tax bill. Then interview two or three agents with the questions above. Our landowner checklist for getting land ready to sell and what is my land worth are good places to start. If you've also had a letter from a cash buyer, read what to know before you call back first.
