INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.  Some 2,800 acres of state-owned farmland will be auctioned early next year.

The land, which was once used by the Indiana Department of Correction (DOC) to raise food for the state prison system, is no longer needed by the DOC. The land was last used for agriculture by the state in 2009. Nearly 2,000 acres are located in LaPorte and Porter counties in northern Indiana, with the remainder in Madison County in central Indiana, said Connie Smith, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Administration, which is in charge of the auction.

Steve Harless is overseeing the sale for the department. “Because of a combination of factors, we think now is the right time to sell the land. Right now it is being leased to private farmers,” he said.

Harless said the state wants to get out of the landlord business when it comes to agricultural land. By selling to private farmers, he explained the land will return to the public tax rolls for the first time in decades.

“The highest, best use of the land is agriculture, and that’s not something the Department of Correction wants to be involved in any more,” said Harless.

Michael Kuehl of Colliers International represents the firm that will conduct the sale. He said the property will be divided into 11 lots ranging in size from 20-192 acres. The sale of land in northern Indiana will be Jan. 17, 2012, starting at 9 a.m. at the Best Western Hotel in La Porte.

“We decided to divide the land into several parcels in order to encourage as much participation as possible,” said Kuehl. “We’ve got large and small parcels and we hope that will encourage both large and small bidders to participate.”

Harless said before any sale is considered, it must be made available to other state agencies that may have a need for it. He doesn’t expect any other agency to step forward, but the process is required by state law.

He declined to say if the state has targeted a value for the land it wants to sell. Instead, the Department of Administra-tion is relying on information from Purdue University on the value of farmland around the state, as well as recent land auctions in the areas surrounding the various properties.

The largest parcel of land to be auctioned is 1,250 acres in Pine Township in Porter County that used to be the home of the West Farm, a minimum security prison that was farmed by inmates in the 1960s. Also up for sale is 487 acres in Center and Coolspring townships, in LaPorte County near the Camp Summit Boot Camp. It was a working farm as recently as 2009 and in the 1950s and 1960s provided fresh produce for the nearby Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. Until last year, it was home to a state-owned cattle herd.

An additional 208 acres near the Westville Correctional Center in Westville will sold in the auction. On Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. at the Garden Hotel in Anderson, 851 acres will be sold near the Pendleton Reformatory in Madison County.

Originally, 40.1 acres of land near the Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis was to be auctioned, but that property has been withdrawn from the sale. Smith said it isn’t suitable for agricultural use because it is inside the city. State officials are reviewing options on what to do with the land.

Kuehl said approval of any sale during the auction will be up to the seller, adding if the state believes it is not getting the best bid possible for the land, it has the right to reject a bid.

“If it’s not what we want, we don’t have to accept it,” said Harless.

He added the sale is part of a privatization effort by Gov. Mitch Daniels to cut the state’s overhead and return property to the tax rolls. Since he was elected governor, Daniels has authorized state sales of everything from excess office furniture and vehicles, aircraft, livestock and land.

He has said the state’s position is the property will provide a bigger benefit to the public and local government as taxable property, than it will benefit the state to own it. As for the land being auctioned, Harless said it is likely to remain as agricultural land, most likely used by farmers who are leasing it now or by those who live nearby.