Caring for your farmland investment
Owners Kent Kraft and Rob Woodrow started Farmland Solutions LLC in February of 2009, in Sherman, Illinois. The company grew quickly with their many clients benefiting from their expertise in farm management, brokerage, and consultation services. Kent and Rob added farm appraisal to the list of services, when Daniel Woodrow, State Certified General Appraiser joined the firm in 2021. Also joining the company that year, Michael Kraft, providing real estate brokerage and farm management.
Using their "muddy boots" philosophy, they obtain deep knowledge of each farm they manage, purchase, sell, or appraise for their customers. Their extensive property inspections reduce surprises from situations that require owner or land buyer expense or action.
Farmland Solutions LLC - In the News
Chicago Tribune: June 2025 - Who owns most of the farmland in Illinois? Not farmers.
"Less than a fourth of Illinois farmland is owned by the farmer who works the land, according to data from the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management, a nonprofit association that helps farmers make management decisions. The rest is leased to farmers by individuals, family trusts and, increasingly, businesses."
Landwatch: September 2024 - Recent Farmland Sales
"A farm with 26,206 contiguous acres, of which 22,972 are tillable, sold in a private sale for $31 million, or $1,183 per total acre and $1,350 per tillable acre. The farm has a full set of buildings, 1.5 million bushels of grain storage capacity and a private elevator with rail-loading access. The farm has a history of wheat, sunflower, corn and milo production."
Flanagan State Bank - Organic Ag Newsletter
"The ten organic farms that I manage range from 200 acres in size to 1,800 acres in size. The leases are either a 50/50 crop share lease or a custom farm lease. All but one of the 50/50 crop share farms were cash rent lease farms before transitioning to organic production. The four custom-operated farms were custom farmed before they were transitioned to organic production."
Who Are the Biggest Absentee Landowners in Illinois?
"The prime soils of central Illinois have the highest concentration of absentee landowners as measured by the per-capita number of professional farm managers. Or in other words, there are more professional farm managers in central Illinois than in the rest of the state - and along with them, absentee landowners."
Illinois soil conservation advocates encourage expansion of incentives for 'cover crops'
"No one needs to sell Rob Woodrow on the value of 'cover crops' in farming. Woodrow, a professional farm manager for landowners in the Springfield area and throughout Illinois, said planting non-cash crops such as rye and clover in the fall after harvest helps soil retain moisture and nutrients, controls weeds and reduces erosion for the next growing season."
Sold
160.0 +/- acres in Bureau County
Sold
27,842 +/- acres in South Dakota
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DeKalb & Kane Counties, Illinois
564 +/- acres offered in 6 tracts
Farm Management
Every farm is unique and every farm owner is unique. Kent and Rob make sure they understand both the land and the landowner so their clients receive a tailored level of management service that best fits both.
Farm Brokerage
Farmland Solutions LLC has decades of experience in buying and selling farmland. Have land for sale? Kent, Rob, and Michael can find a buyer. Want to buy land? Kent, Rob, and Michael will look for the land that best fits your needs.
Farm Owner Consultation
Some landowners think they don't need full professional management. Perhaps they have experience both in agriculture and in business, but don't have experience with a particular issue, or the time to devote to solving a problem.
320 South Crossing Road
P. O. Box 169
Sherman, IL 62684
Office Phone: 217-496-3500
Fax: 217-496-2712
Copyright 2026 by Farmland Solutions, LLC