Price of Farmland in your Area

In this area the university says that our 'carrying capacity' is 1.6 steers/acre for half the year. Combining pasture with hay-production gets cattlemen in this area around 0.8/acre.

My father has spent over 40 years running cattle in regions where they have 40 acres per head [plus winter feeding] 'carrying capacity'. I do not think he has ever broke even.

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http://www.mofga.org/

http://www.mofga.org/Programs/FarmAp...2/Default.aspx

I appologise if my message came off a little uppity, didn't mean for it to sound that way. Sometimes folk on here like to think medium & big time farmers don't have any rules at all, while even a pretty small outfit like me - 25 to 35 head - is inspected and permitted on a 4 year plan.

My neighbor with the 4000 hog barn has to fill out a 40 page forum & pay $600 every 4 years to run his operation. He said 4 years ago he had to fill out 20 pages; he wonders if in another 4 years it will be 80 pages. Really, what is there to say about a hog barn - small or huge - that will cover 40 pages?????

One of the concerns raised with his operation was a tile intake that is along his driveway - no where near the hog barns. The concern was, if he is hauling manure along the driveway, and something on the manure tanker breaks in that spot, what happens if the manure should run along the road ditch and find it's way to that tile intake?

That seems to be a pretty long reach?

But I do agree with some moderate regulations on animal manure, and so forth.

It seems they are getting pretty far reaching when they go to those lengths & extremes. Don't know that my few cattle need a whole lot of review - they wanted to know my manure management plan - I get perhaps 5 loads of manure per year because my cattle are rarely in the barn, grazing 12 acres of pasture & 40 acres of cornstalks/fall/ winter grass and I have over a couple 100 acres of land to spread manure on - geez I wish I had 20 times as much manure.... What is my plan with 5 loads of manure? Put it on hill tops where corn is going in. My soil tests poor low in P, geez I wish I had more manure..... But, gotta have a detailed plan so I don't single handledly kill the Gulf with my 5 loads of manure a year.....

My neighbor with the 12 horses on about 4 acres of pasture spread his accumulated 3 years of manure piles on his pasture last year - he went over the pasture 3 times deep until he was done, coudn't see any green for a few days. Not sure that is a good plan, or how much of the manure washed down into my fields - which in my case I appreciate.


--->Paul

There was an article in the paper here (PA) about the Amish moving to NY. Ten new communities were established last year. That is twice the amount of any other state. I can completely understand the reasons for the migration. The rural areas of NY are gorgeous and it is great farmland. I would love to live in NY but the the property taxes are a killer. I'm wondering if there isn't some state property tax loophole they have found.

NOT true. We do take mortgages out if someone or people won't or can't lend us money that are in the church. But we do borrow from the bank if we have to.

I had a 15 year mortgage from the bank but later, an older man in our church wanted to loan the money to me, so I used it to pay off the bank loan and then made payments to him until my house was paid off.

I am Mennonite btw.

I know an Amish kid that is in the hole to the tune of 500,000 to the church......
Just bought a nice place and a pile of cows.

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Deja Moo; The feeling I've heard this bull before.

My apology. We have two new Anabaptist communities that have started near us. One article I read about one of them said that the sponsoring community had funded their purchases.

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http://www.mofga.org/

http://www.mofga.org/Programs/FarmAp...2/Default.aspx

You don't need to apologize. We mostly do borrow from each other. Lots of older people start the younger ones by lending them money and living off the interest.

But it's the single ladies who have the money to loan. They'll get together and make a loan to someone for x amount of interest. It helps all around. They get the interest and we get loans with smaller interest payments and we don't have to go thru all of the government hoopla that's usually required to get a mortgage loan

When I saw this on the news it just stuck me as funny odd since for years all us New Yorkers have ever heard was that people leave not move here. It's nice for a change.
Yes we do have some great rural areas. I was born in Chautauqua county.

I'm not sure if communities like the Amish have found tax loop holes.
If they have good for them hope they are able to keep it. Our state government is going after anything that can generate money (what sate isn't) which includes Native American enterprises.

As to loaning money among themselves also good deal. That is how it use to be in most communities be it religious or ethnicity and still is.


~~ pelenaka ~~

I think the 'investors' are blowing their assets, if they think farmland is going to 'save' them in an economic collapse. If you own land a thousand miles away, and civilization crumbles, you'll own nothing but a piece of paper. The land will be worked and used by the locals.

Imho, buying ag land, as an investment vehicle, if your not actually going to work it yourself, is not wise... think: bubble.

Just because commodity prices are rising, is not a reason to go out and pay 15K/acre for cropland.

Any farmer here want to worry about servicing a six figure interest debt note?

Imho, it's very hard to make it in regular commodity farming to begin with, if you have to go out and buy 400 or 500 acres of land, and pay the interest on the debt, good luck.

Reckon, if I made a 7 figure bonus each year, 'investing' in farmland might make sense... sure beats paper investments...

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

Sadly everything in my area goes for $4k to $5K per acre if it is within 10 minutes of town. THis is a small town too. About 3500 people. Not a metropolis. I have been trying to buy 25 but may have to scale back to 10 with an option in 3 years.

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Sold the farm no more critters
I have a postage stamp lot now
I aim to make it the most organic productive 1/3 acre in southwest Missouri
With a 20 acre plot to be added in 3 years or so

This is a great website to search for land and appraise prices.

http://www.landsofamerica.com/america/

With Crops bringing in $1500 to $2000 a acre gross dont be surprized to see good IL farmland hit $20,000 a acre!

An unforseen consequence of bio fuels. Only big ag will be able to afford land. And they will destroy it.

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Sold the farm no more critters
I have a postage stamp lot now
I aim to make it the most organic productive 1/3 acre in southwest Missouri
With a 20 acre plot to be added in 3 years or so

Being mildly curious about it, I looked at the listings:

17 acres of hay field, not buildable, no irrigation equipment, $100,000, looks out of use, but developed at some point, so easy to clean up.

38 acres, not improved, river water rights, which are going to cost to develop, $199,000 (this looks like it is all in sage brush, but it's level)

83 acres, all in developed farmland, nice fields with good water rights, currently in use, $340,000. This looks like a nice property.

Added note: good farmland was $5,000 an acre back in 1975. We've had a serious price crash around here. It's probably a good time to buy.

In my area, every land owner thinks their land is better sold to developers. I sort of agree that is a good idea,a dn would maximize the value. However my community government is very anti growth. they deter out side business. That combined with the housing resession means n o one will develope here for 10 or more years. Seems the money from selling that land could be put to better use. But on the other hand IF i owned it I would not sell either. The difference is I would use and improve the land. I did just sell a home and take a huge hit on it. Fortunately I had pleanty of equity so I can walk away with a little to start over.

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Sold the farm no more critters
I have a postage stamp lot now
I aim to make it the most organic productive 1/3 acre in southwest Missouri
With a 20 acre plot to be added in 3 years or so

Here in south central Arkansas land is selling for $2500 to $3500 per acre, depending on quality and irrigation capacity. This is all flat (by most standards) row crop land. Rice, soybeans, wheat, and a little corn. Almost no small parcels are available. The minimum is about 160 acres.