Farmland Values Up 4% to 10%.....

Farmland Values Up 4% to 10% Across Central/Southern Plains

NOV 12, 2010

Mike Walsten

Strong farm incomes and rising demand lifted the value of farmland 4% to 10% across the central and southern plains, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The bank serves Colorado, Kansas, northwest Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, northern New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. It's survey of bankers found the value of irrigated cropland rose 9.6% by the end of September versus a year earlier. Dryland cropland rose gained 6.4% and ranchland rose 4.3%. Strong gains were noted in Kansas and Nebraska. Irrigated cropland in Kansas and Nebraska rose 12.2% and 11.8%. respectively, while non-irrigated cropland gained 11.8% in Kansas and 9.4% in Nebraska.

Annual farmland cash rental rates were also sup, the survey found, the the gains were not quite as dramatic. Compared to last year, cash rental rates were about 5% higher for cropland and about 2% higher for ranchland.

Click here for the full report.

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Strong farmland prices

Confirming strong farmland prices, Terry Engelken, CEO of Federation Bank in Washington, Iowa, said, “We have had several farm land auctions recently and several parcels brought over $9,000 per acre.” The farmland price index rose in all 10 states surveyed, with strong gains in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, and Wyoming.

Farm Belt Bounces Back

By SCOTT KILMAN

Major agricultural commodities continued their extended run-up in price, underscoring how much of America's farm belt is booming even as the overall economy continues to struggle.

Contracts for the delivery of corn and soybeans into mid-2011 jumped Monday by 5% and 2%, respectively, after rising their daily permissible limits on Friday, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture sliced production estimates by small percentages. Cash cotton prices rose 3.3% Monday after a 3.9% gain Friday. They are 86% higher than a year ago.

For many crops, prices are climbing even as big harvests pile up, a rare combination. Farmland values are up while those for some other kinds of real estate languish. Debt on the farm is manageable. Incomes are rising.

Modest debt is another factor helping the farm economy. A debt crisis on the farm in the mid-1980s was so punishing that it dealt both operators and lenders a generation-long dose of caution. Farm debt, which had hit 28.5% of equity in 1985, now is just 13% of equity.

So while soured debt weighs on values in other forms of real estate, Midwestern farmland prices are climbing. Iowa land was up 8% on July 1 from a year earlier, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Write to Scott Kilman at scott.kilman@wsj.com

....for to read all article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298504575534210333046160.html

U.S. farmland disappearing

U.S. farmland disappearing

Farmland has also been disappearing in the U.S. due to urban development. Farmland has been used to create new highways, industrial parks, and housing developments. . The American Farmland Trust estimates thatbetween 1992-1997, more than six million acres of agricultural land, an area the size of Maryland, was used for urban development.

There has been a 5% decrease in farmland in the tri-state area of Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia from 1987 to 2007. Wisconsin's farmland has decreased by 19% from 1978 to 2008. Virginia lost 521,000 acres of farmland from 2002 to 2007.

The decline in farmland has lead to the U.S.'s food supply being grown in smaller areas with a higher concentration. The high concentration of crops is dangerous because of the risk of: drought, floods, insects, disease among crops, and depleting quality of soils. The U.S. food supply could be at risk as any unexpected interruption in the food chain such as flood, disease, or drought, could wipe out a significant portion of food production.

http://farmlandforecast.colvin-co.com/2009/06/18/global-farmland-disappearing.aspx

by Colvin & Co.

Demand to Set Another Record

SEPTEMBER 2, 2010

By: Linda H. Smith, Top Producer Business and Marketing Editor

In less than two months, as Russia burned literally and figuratively in its worst drought in history, we transitioned from an ample world supply situation to one in which supply and demand are much more in balance. "The U.S. is an island of supply in a world that needs supplies," says Dan Basse of AgResource. "With crops being trimmed worldwide, we will be the reliable supplier."

Domestic demand for corn promises to be firm, pegged at 50 million bushels above this past year and carryover equaling less than 10% of use. The soybean outlook isn’t quite as rosy, with ending stocks climbing from this past year and equal to 11% of demand. However, "soybeans and meal could be the bigger story in the long term," says Jerry Gulke of the Gulke Group. "USDA has China’s bean imports at 49.5 million metric tons [mmt]. Some say the total could be as much as 58 to 60 mmt. They’d have to import roughly a million tons a week."

Corn ethanol use, pegged at 4.7 billion bushels, is up 200 million bushels, just about offsetting feed use, which fell 175 million bushels. Total grain-consuming animal units are up a touch from 2009. Both dairy and beef cattle are down for the third year in a row, squeezed by red ink. Hogs, on the other hand, are up, and poultry is up modestly.

The July 1 cattle and calves inventory fell 1% from this past year. With the smallest calf crop in 50 years, the question is, "When will herd rebuilding start?" Traditionally, the cycle includes six to eight years of increasing numbers followed by three or four years of liquidation.

The Best Place to be in the next 30 years

JUNE 29, 2010
Agriculture Is The Best Place To Be In The Next 30 Years
Agriculture in my view, is going to be the best place to be in the next 30 years. All these people getting MBA`s are making a terrible mistake as far as I am concerned. They should be getting farm degrees.

in Investment Strategies In An Emerging Financial Landscape

Corn Belt Farmland Posts 4% Annual Gain

Corn Belt Farmland Posts 4% Annual Gain
5/21/2010
Mike Walsten

The value of "good" agricultural farmland rose 4% for the year ending April 1, states the regular quarterly survey of agricultural bankers conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The Fed bank serves the northern two-thirds of Illinois and Indiana, all of Iowa, the Lower Pennisula of Michigan and southeastern Wisconsin. The survey also found cash rental rates rose 1%, down dramatically from 2009.

Survey respondents said demand to purchase farmland during the first quarter of 2010 strengthened from a year ago, driven primarily by demand from farmers. The survey also found the amount of farmland for sale and the number of farms sold declined in the first three months of 2010 relative to the same period in 2009. The vast majority of the bankers responding to the survey anticipate stable land values during the second quarter of 2010, the Fed bank said.

The survey reported the following annual gains by state: Illinois, 4%; Indiana, 7%; and Iowa, 8%. Wisconsin recorded a 1% decline in values on an annual basis, but indicated values rose 2% during the first quarter of 2010.

May 26, 2010

I Would Urge Anyone To Buy A Farm

I would urge anyone to buy a farm. Farming has been a horrible business for 30 years, so there's fewer farmers and supply is under duress. At the same time all of Asia is becoming more prosperous, so you have demand going up when supply is under pressure.

in Sydney Morning Herald

by Jimrogersblogspot

Optimism is back in farmland !!!!

COLUMBIA CITY, IN--(Marketwire - December 11, 2009) - The December 9 auction of 506 acres southwest of Frankfort, Ind., drew a capacity crowd of bidders, resulting in the sale of the land for $3,345,000, according to Rex Schrader, president of Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company.
"The optimism is back in the market, especially for higher quality land. The results of this sale confirm what we have seen over the last 90 days in other sales of high-quality land," said Schrader after the sale, which included 486 acres of prime Indiana farmland, bringing prices ranging as high as $7,000 per acre. "Land in the top one-third in terms of quality is up a good 10 percent during this quarter, and we are seeing new records for land prices in many counties," he said.
The 506 acres sold to a combination of five different buyers:
-- Three acres with buildings for $140,000;
-- 217 acres for $1,410,000 ($6,498 per acre);
-- 118 acres for $800,000 ($6,780 per acre);
-- 138 acres for $785,000 ($5,588 per acre); and
-- 30 acres for $210,000 ($7,000 per acre).

The auction was packed with buyers, several bidding on all the land and many buyers bidding on various combinations of tracts and single tracts. "We had lots of interest from investors from at least six different states. The bidding action between the investors and the farmers was very competitive, with farmers ultimately buying most of the land," said sale manager Bill Haworth.
Having sold farmland throughout the United States -- including more than 3,000 acres in the past 15 months in the Clinton County, Ind., area alone -- Schrader said "the evidence of the uptrend in the market for good crop land today is very clear."
Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company, based in Columbia City, Ind., is one of the nation's largest auctioneers of agricultural land. The company's auction calendar and results are available at www.schraderauction.com. Other Schrader releases.
For more information:
Rex Schrader800-451-2709
Carl Carter205-823-3273

Strong Land Auctions Reported

Strong Land Auctions Reported
by "Your Precious Land" Mike Walsten
Here's an item I ran in the current issue of LandOwner that talks about some of the surprising strong sales seen in the land market recently. That item starts below. Meanwhile, here is a press release from Schrader Real Estate & Auction Company, Inc., Columbia City, Ind., that highlights a recent strong auction near Frankfort, Indiana.
This is the story that ran in the December 10 issue of LandOwner:
Strong Sales Seen At Recent Midwest Auctions
Dynamic. Strong — for better quality ground. Variable. Surprising. Yes — because after following the constant negative downbeat of the financial and farm media, you’re surprised when you hear a east-Central Illinois farm sold for $7,800 an acre in less than 30 minutes. These are our impressions after spending several days following recent auctions from Indiana to eastern Colorado. Here are some examples:
•$7,500 an acre in Knox County near Galesburg in western Illinois.
•$7,675 in northwest Iowa.
•$5,000 to $6,000 at several sales in Indiana.
•$8,700 near Bushnell in western Illinois.
•$3,800 in Atchinson County, Missouri.
•$5,770 in southwest Iowa.
•$5,000 in south central Minnesota.
•$2,900, irrigated land in western Nebraska.
•$2,400 in central South Dakota.
•$5,990 in Renville County, Minnesota.
•$1,820, combination irrigated and dryland cropland in northwestern Colorado.
•$7,600 and $7,800, Coles County, Illinois.
•$3,740 in Sedgwick County in central Kansas.
•$4,590 in Brown County, Minnesota.
•$5,850 to $6,800 for several sales in Hamilton, Hancock and Humboldt counties in Iowa.
•$7,500 to $7,600, Hancock County, Illinois.
•$5,100, irrigated, Reno County, Kansas.
•$4,600-$5,800, Redwood County, Minnesota.
•$5,100-$8,100 in Holt County, Missouri.
•$6,025 in Madison County, Iowa.
We know not all sales have been this strong. There have been several “no sales” at auctions, too. In those cases, the common denominator is lower quality soils and a low percentage of tillable acres versus gross acres.