The Wright Family Land Auction

Live auction by Joe Ollis Real Estate & Auction, LLC

Starts May 18, 2024 10:00 AM CDT

Location: TBD Jonesboro , Jonesboro , IL 62952

The Wright Family Land Auction Union County Illinois 696+/- Acres Tillable, Hunting, & a Quarry   Tract Acres+/- Tillable +/- 1 67.6 41.18 Acres 2 58.3 46.93 Acres 3 33.7 22.01 Acres 4 388.8 111.32 Acres 5 142.4 57.96 Acres 6 5.3 2.97 Acres Total 696.1 282.37   May 18, 2024 Saturday 10:00 am   St Mary's Church Parish Hall – 402 Freeman St, Anna, IL 62906   Parcel Tax ID Numbers 06-29-04-944, 06-19-04-607, & 06-20-04-621   The Wright Family is pleased to present 696+/- acres of prime Illinois farmland, hunting land and quarry at public auction on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 10:00am.  The auction will be held at St. Mary's Church Parish Hall in Anna, IL.  This expansive property, under longtime family ownership since 1939, will be offered in 6 individual tracts ranging from 5 to 388 acres.   The land features approximately 282 highly productive tillable acres.  The non-tillable acreage provides excellent hunting and recreational opportunities.  Tracts 1, 2, 3 and 6 are contiguous and total 165 acres, while Tracts 4 and 5 are standalone parcels of 389 and 142 acres respectively.   In addition to the tillable land, the property contains approximately 275 acres of quality merchantable timber, adding significant value for buyers.  A March 2024 timber assessment by consulting forester Eric Holzmueller estimates the total timber value at $330,000.  The timber resource includes mature black walnut, poplar, hickory, oak, sycamore, maple, and ash, with Tracts 4 and 5 holding the majority of the timber value at $177,000 and $105,000 respectively. Timber quality is average to above average for the area.   The property also includes an active limestone quarry famous for producing some of the highest quality agricultural lime in the nation.  The quarry has been leased and operated since 1964 and is currently being ran by Shawnee Stone.  With robust demand for crushed limestone in the construction and agriculture sectors, this presents a unique value-added component for buyers.   Bidding will utilize the multi-par method, allowing buyers the choice to bid on any individual tract, combination of tracts, or the entire property.  Final price is subject to seller confirmation. A 10% down payment is due within 24 hours of the auction, with closing to follow on or before July 16, 2024.  Seller will provide clear title at closing.  2023 and prorated 2024 real estate taxes will be credited to buyer at closing.  A 5% Buyers Premium will be added to the high bid to establish the contract price.   This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to acquire a substantial and diverse Southern Illinois land holding with strong income potential from farming, timber, recreation and mineral extraction. Contact Joe Ollis Real Estate & Auction for complete terms, additional information, and to arrange a private preview of the property.  Maps, photos, soil, and quarry production data are available at www.ollisauction.com.   Limestone Quarry Operation and Income   The property has an active limestone quarry that has been leased to various operators since 1963.  The current operator, Shawnee Stone, LLC, has been managing the quarry since 2007.  The quarry encompasses approximately 105 acres, with 35 acres dedicated to the mine pit, 25 acres for plant operations, stockpiles, and maintenance, and 45 acres for mine spoil areas and auxiliary purposes.   The mining process involves clearing overburden, using dynamite to free limestone from the highwall, and then crushing and processing the material in the on-site plant.  Shawnee Stone produces a variety of products, including high calcium limestone, fluegas desulphurization limestone, construction aggregate, ag-lime, and rip-rap.   The quarry primarily targets the Ullin Limestone formation, which is approximately 200 feet thick in the area. Based on the estimated resource tonnage, considering a continued eastward advance into the upland area, the quarry has a total resource of 36,860,000 tons and a reserve of 33,170,000 tons.   The underlying Fort Payne Formation, which contains chert or silica lenses and is less pure than the Ullin Limestone, is exposed in the quarry floor.  However, the current operation aims to target the purer Ullin Limestone for the foreseeable future.     The royalty fee structure outlined in the lease document is as follows:   1. Base Royalty: The lessee agrees to pay the lessors a base royalty of five cents for each ton of 2000 pounds of limestone mined or quarried on the leased premises and shipped to a purchaser.   2. Additional Royalty: If the selling price received by the lessee, f.o.b. the quarry, exceeds $2.00 per ton, the lessee agrees to pay an additional royalty of 10% of the excess price over $2.00 per ton.  However, this additional royalty will not exceed 10 cents per ton.   3. Quarterly Payments: Both the base royalty and any additional royalty are payable quarterly, on or before the 25th day following the end of each calendar quarter.   4. Annual Payment: Additionally, the lessee shall pay the lessors $5,000.00 each calendar year the lease remains in effect, which will be credited against the royalties due for that year if applicable.   Farm Operation and Income   The property consists of two FSA tracts (Tract 10601 and Tract 10602) and is farmed by local farmers who have a long-standing verbal agreement with the owners. The Eddleman Farms receive a 66.66% share of the crop sales, while the owners receive a 33.33% share.  The Eddleman Farms plant, fertilize, and harvest corn and soybean crops on the cleared and tillable land of the property.  According to the FSA report, the total cropland on the farm is 282.36 acres, with 209.18 acres on Tract 10601 and 73.18 acres on Tract 10602.   Crop sales receipts from 2018 to 2023 indicate that the harvested crops have been sold to CGB and Bunge Chevron.  The following tables summarize the corn and soybean bushels sold and sale prices for the given periods. The property has yielded an annual average of 11,526 bushels of corn and 5,293 bushels of soybeans.  2024 plan is to plant Soybeans in Tracts 1 through 4 and Corn in Tracts 5 & 6.  

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