01
Appraisals
& valuation
Bring the land-value question into focus for estate planning, administration, buyouts or a potential sale. Start by identifying the appropriate valuation assignment.
Discuss an appraisalFor the professionals landowners trust
You guide the client. We bring the farmland expertise.
When your client’s next decision involves farmland, bring a land specialist to the table. Connect with Johnny Klemme and the Geswein Farm & Land team for appraisals, listings, auctions and farm management.
Start with the situation. No client names or documents needed.
No active case? Build the relationship now
Alongside your advisory team
Your client’s goals.A shared path forward.
Land expertise that complements the work you do.
Built for your practice
Estate & estate planning attorneys·Real estate attorneys·CPAs·Trust professionals·Financial & wealth advisors·NAEPC professionals·Landowner advisors
A practical place to bring the land questions
What does your client need to move forward?
Start with the assignment—not a predetermined outcome. A valuation, a sale or long-term ownership may each call for a different kind of support.
Appraisals
02
Farm real
estate listings
Translate a decision to sell into a land-specific pricing, marketing and transaction strategy that reflects your client’s goals, property and timeline.
Discuss a listing03
Land
auctions
Explore whether an auction fits the situation. Consider sale format, tract strategy, buyer outreach and timing before choosing a path.
Explore an auction04
Farm
management
Support clients who want to retain the land. Bring leasing, tenant relationships, income goals and long-term stewardship into the ownership conversation.
Discuss managementNot sure which service fits? Start with the decision your client needs to make.
Built around the trust you have earned
An extension of your team.
Not a replacement for it.
Your clients look to you for sound judgment. Johnny brings farmland perspective alongside your legal, tax, trust and financial expertise—so the land decision stays connected to the larger plan.
Legal authority, tax strategy and fiduciary responsibilities remain with the appropriate professionals. Land services support that work; they do not replace it.
Start with your perspective.
Discuss the client’s decision, the land, the timing and where additional expertise would be useful. Begin at a high level before sharing sensitive information.
Define how to work together.
Clarify the assignment, who should participate and how communication should flow. Confirm the appropriate service and scope before an engagement begins.
Bring the right people into the conversation.
With the client’s permission, connect the family and relevant professionals around the next land decision—not simply the next transaction.
Recognize the moment to connect
A familiar situation.
A useful next conversation.
Land questions rarely arrive in isolation. Start wherever the client is in the decision process.
Heirs see the same farm differently.
One wants to farm. Another needs liquidity. Others are unsure what ownership involves. Use the land’s value, practical options and the family’s priorities to support a more informed conversation about keeping, leasing or selling.
Talk through the situationAn estate or trust needs a land decision.
A trustee, executor or advisory team needs valuation support, a sale strategy or an ongoing management plan. Bring property-level market perspective into the work while counsel and fiduciaries address authority, obligations and approvals.
Discuss the estate or trustCo-ownership is holding up progress.
Undivided interests or differing expectations can leave the land decision unresolved. Bring valuation and sale-option analysis alongside counsel’s work on title, ownership rights, buyouts or partition. Legal questions remain with the attorney.
Discuss the land-side questionsA client wants farmland in the wealth plan.
Whether a client is exploring a farmland purchase or potential replacement property, connect property selection, land values and management considerations with the advisor’s broader plan. Tax eligibility and exchange structure belong with the client’s tax, legal and exchange professionals.
Discuss a farmland purchaseFive lenses. One client’s best interests.
Build, steward, transition and transfer land wealth.
VALUE
Understand the asset and its place in the decision.
WEALTH
Connect land choices to income, liquidity and long-term goals.
OWNERSHIP
Clarify responsibilities and questions for the advisory team.
STEWARDSHIP
Consider the land’s care, productivity and future.
TRANSITION
Evaluate the next chapter, whether the client holds, leases or sells.
Family runs through all five. The right conversation considers both what the land is worth and what it means.
More Land Value. Since 1977.Meet the specialist alongside your team
Land knowledge.
A family-first perspective.
Johnny Klemme, CAI
Farmland advisor · Broker · Auctioneer · Author
Johnny works alongside attorneys, CPAs, trust officers and wealth professionals to help landowning families move from complex questions to practical next steps. Through Geswein Farm & Land, that perspective connects to appraisals, brokerage, auctions and farm management.
He is the author of American Family Farmland: Preserving Values and Creating Wealth, a resource for the family and values conversations behind consequential land decisions.
Forthcoming · October 2026
When Farmland Is the Fortune: A Framework for Advisors
NAEPC Journal of Estate & Tax Planning
Useful before there is an assignment
A stronger starting point for your client conversations.
Start
10 Questions to Ask When Farmland Is the Fortune
Start with the questions that help a family clarify fairness, responsibility, liquidity, and what the land should make possible.
Values
LAND VALUES: A Conversation Guide
Use the ten LAND VALUES categories to put financial priorities, family relationships, and stewardship into a shared conversation.
Meetings
The Family Farmland Meeting Guide
Prepare for two focused conversations: first clarify goals and facts, then compare pathways and agree on next steps.
A companion for the family—not a replacement for advice
Give the family a shared starting point.
American Family Farmland offers another way to begin discussing legacy, wealth and what comes next. Ask about a copy for a client or your advisory team.
Before you reach out
A few practical
questions.
A useful professional relationship can begin well before a client is ready for a transaction.
Can we talk before a client is ready to sell?
Yes. Start with the land question, the client’s priorities and the stage of planning. Valuation, leasing, management and family transition conversations do not have to begin with a decision to sell.
What if a formal appraisal is needed?
Start by discussing the intended use, property, relevant valuation date and timing. The assignment can then be directed to the appropriate appraisal professional. Formal appraisals and broker market analyses are separate services. Johnny helps connect the land question with the appropriate team; formal appraisal work is completed by appropriately qualified appraisal professionals.
How should an introduction begin?
Connect advisor to advisor first, or—with your client’s permission—use a short email introduction. A broad description of the decision is enough to begin. Agree on roles and communication before sharing confidential materials or beginning work.
Which markets does the team serve?
Geswein Farm & Land works with landowners in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. Share the property’s general location to confirm the appropriate professional, geographic coverage and availability for the assignment.
What information is needed for a first conversation?
Your role, the general land question and any timing considerations are enough. Client names, financial statements, tax records and legal documents are not needed in the initial website inquiry. Contact the team to agree on an appropriate way to exchange sensitive information.
The next step can be a conversation
Have a client situation in mind?
Let’s talk it through.
Bring the land question. Johnny will help you identify where farmland expertise can support your work and your client’s next decision.
Appraisal support. Listing strategy. Land auctions. Farm management. Or simply an introduction before the need arises.
Advisor-to-advisor inquiry