You are right on the sibling situation. I have some neighbors going through the exact thing. Two boys have been doing the farming and want to continue but some city sisters can only see dollar signs and they don't have the means to buy out the sisters. It is too bad for sure.
I think the land price discussion is an interesting one. I certainly understand where you are coming from. I worked for the Federal Land Bank for many years and was there during the 1980's when we saw land values drop by half all over this area. At that time interest rates varied from 12% to over 20% at some local banks. But on the other hand CD rates were 6% to 7% if I remember correctly. At any rate CD rates were attractive for those who had cash to invest in them. I am certainly not one of those who thinks land prices will continue to climb no matter what but I do see some significant differences between then and now. Yes, land values are high and seem to be rising but interest rates are very low and alternative investments just aren't out there. CD's at 1% or less and land loans at 4 1/2% roughly so that makes a big difference in how land values react. Just an example of something I did.....two years ago I bought an all cropland 120 acres. I gave $2,000 an acre for it which I thought was plenty high. It is upland in good condition but certainly no bottom land. Last year was a tough year but we got one good rain just when we needed it and we had a decent bean crop. This year had some scary times but we managed a very good corn crop. Last year the net return was about 7%, this year it will be roughly 8%. That is net income after fertilizer, taxes, etc divided by the purchase price. I guess the reason I don't see land values going down is that as long as you can borrow money in the 4% range and get a yield on your investment of nearly double that land is going to remain an attractive investment for anyone.