To Beat Taxes, Land Comes To Market

WSJ, via Ritholtz:

Sales of land used to grow crops are surging, with owners capitalizing on a sustained rise in real-estate values driven by low interest rates and historically high prices for corn and soybeans. But the last straw for many prospective sellers has been Washington's continued fiscal confusion and the prospect of higher taxes next year.
That was the deciding factor for Judy Beetzel and her four siblings, who last month sold the family's 770-acre farm in central Illinois to a local farming family for $10,900 an acre, more than double the state average three years ago. The family had been renting the land to two local farmers, and Ms. Beetzel said they were going to continue that practice after her father's death in August. But plans changed after the family accountant estimated selling now could save as much as $500,000 in taxes.
My father "loved that land. But we know he would want us to do the best we could," said Ms. Beetzel, 61 years old.
The family joined a rush of sellers looking to capitalize on a marked rise in land prices that goes back several years, prompting debate over whether a bubble could be forming in the Farm Belt. But the sales don't represent farmers cashing out. In fact, just the opposite: Experts say most sellers aren't farming the land themselves, while most buyers are farmers looking to capitalize on long-term industry trends as well as scoop up land that may become available once in a generation.

The article delves into a discussion about the possibility of a bubble.  I still don't understand how these farmers are supposedly buying the land with cash.  If they are, that just amazes me.  The rise on that chart just can't go on.