Blogs

ASFMRA Ag News - May 23, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 7 days ago
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USDA Streamlines Conservation Easement Program The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an effort to streamline its Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), updating its process around land appraisals and land surveys while certifying organizations that help the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) with the process of rolling land into easements.  The ACEP aids landowners in conserving, restoring, and protecting wetlands as well as at-risk grasslands. Read the Full Story Inn at Dos Brisas Shaves $2.5M Off Asking Price A more than 300-acre Texas ranch—including the largest private indoor riding arena in the state—is ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - May 9, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 21 days ago
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Land Values Holding Their Own Land values are holding up throughout the High Plains, according to an expert who tracks rural real estate sales. Paul Schadegg, AFM, Senior Vice President of Real Estate Operations at Farmers National Company, says the double-digit increase in values in recent years has slowed but the market is resilient. “A year ago we fully anticipated see some settling in the market,” he said. Instead the market went a different direction. “It really accelerated into the second half of 2022 and we really didn’t see any kind of settling until somewhere between the third and fourth quarter.” Read the Full Story [WATCH] Could Farmers ...
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Member Spotlight: Richard (Dick) Isaacson, AFM, ARA

By ASFMRA Press posted 04-25-2023
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Meet the subject of our most recent Member Spotlight: Richard (Dick) Isaacson, AFM, ARA, a dedicated member of the Iowa Chapter of ASFMRA since 1976. Dick is the owner and founder of Growthland, a company with three offices across Iowa offering farm management, appraisal and brokerage services. How did you begin your career in agriculture? My career in agriculture really began as a youth growing up on a livestock farm in central Iowa. Our primary focus was dairy cows. The memories of cultivating corn with a four-row cultivator on an Allis Chalmers WD45 tractor remain, as well as milking cows on hot, humid summer days. After a rewarding involvement in 4-H, ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - April 25, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 04-24-2023
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The Truth About Soil’s Ability to Sequester Carbon Much fanfare accompanies programs that pay farmers to sequester green-house gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in their soils. Yet, questions linger as research casts doubt on whether the promise equals reality. “Just about everywhere we look, there are claims about carbon sequestration being akin to the holy grail for agriculture and, by extension, the environment,” says Ben Palen, a fifth-generation Kansas farmer and manager at Ag Management Partners. “There is nothing wrong with modest improvement, but often the promise and the reality do not match.” “I worry that we are selling ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - April 11, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 04-10-2023
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Wind Turbines and Farmland Values Rising land values have been one of the constants in the agriculture industry, but adding energy projects is likely to provide additional value. Jim Rebhuhn, accredited farm manager with Hertz Farm Management in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, said adding a wind turbine to any ground is a good way to boost its value. The same is likely true of solar panels, but there isn’t enough data to make a definite statement on that yet. “The most data we have is on wind turbines, because they’ve been around longer than some of these solar farms. But in just about every case, when a farm sells and it has a turbine on it, we are seeing a premium,” ...
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Member Spotlight: Jim Rothermich, MAI, ALC, ARA

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-28-2023
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This Member Spotlight focuses on Jim Rothermich, MAI, ALC, ARA, out of Des Moines, Iowa. Jim serves as the Vice President at Iowa Appraisal while running "the Land Talker" and "Land Talk Weekly," both popular sources of information for anyone seeking to keep up with the latest land price information in Iowa.  How did you begin your career in agriculture? As a youth, I was involved with my families grain & livestock operation. After graduating from Mizzou in 1988, my plans to go back to the family farm operation changed due to the vast numbers of acres going into the Conservation Reserve Program, which took out a lot of tillable acres in the area. At ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - March 28, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-27-2023
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John Wayne’s California Ranch Hits the Market for $12 Million A sprawling California ranch once owned by John Wayne has hit the market. The Rancho Pavoreal (Peacock Ranch in Spanish) is available for $12 million, FOX Business has learned. The property spreads 2,000 acres in Sage, a small agricultural community. The 3,000-square-foot residence is located 20 minutes away from Temecula Wine Country and is situated halfway between San Diego to the south and Palm Springs to the northeast — about a 90-minute gallop from each. It’s also a two-hour drive from downtown Los Angeles. Read the Full Story Illinois Farmland Still off to the Races, End in Sight ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - March 14, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-13-2023
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Maryland Farmers Seek Protection From Surprise Tax Bills Howie Feaga got an eye-popping tax update last year for his farm in Ellicott City, Maryland. The assessed value of his buildings had leaped from $400,000 to $1.2 million, translating to a huge overnight increase in his property taxes. “Farm buildings do not increase in value like that,” Feaga, of horse and beef operation Merry Acres Farm, told lawmakers Feb. 21. “Please understand that farmers that farm for a living cannot make a change in their budgets to handle an increase like that.” Feaga was able to get his assessment reduced on appeal, but his experience typifies what Maryland ag advocates ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - February 28, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 02-28-2023
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Selling Iowa's Historic Prison Farms During the Great Depression, when food was scarce across the country, men incarcerated at the Anamosa State Penitentiary grew the vegetables and fruit they ate behind bars. They raised hogs, cattle and poultry, collected eggs and even made milk, cheese and ice cream. Prison farms in Iowa and across the country not only supplied food for incarcerated people but they were the first prison vocational programs outside prison walls. The state now is considering selling more than 4,000 acres of farmland surrounding Iowa prisons and other residential facilities to raise an estimated $32.7 million. About one-third of the land ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - February 14, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 02-12-2023
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Bringing Millennials and Farmland Together Friction between generations has been going on for a very long time. Descriptions like lazy, entitled and excessive can be found for each new generation in literature all the way back to Aristotle. Maybe routine, everyday life causes those of us in the older generation to just forget what it’s like to be young. I tend to think that each successive generation faces challenges and opportunities that differ from the previous generation. And that gives each generation a unique view of the world, which can ultimately divide us. Whatever the reason, young adults are the most valuable resource we have in agriculture. ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - January 31, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 01-31-2023
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Carbon Program Providers Say Buyer Demand Is Outpacing Farmer Supply It might seem like farmer interest is a moving target fueled by fluctuations in the commodity markets. While carbon programs announce their first and second rounds of payments to farmers, it seems the price for the carbon sequestered is also a moving target. Carbon by Indigo announced their second tranche of payments in December 2022 – $3.7 million to 450 farmers. The company reports it has consistently increased the price it pays for carbon credits. “Demand is currently outpacing credits produced by farmers in our program,” says Heather Gieseke, vice president of carbon commercial for ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - January 17, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 01-16-2023
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Joe Burrow, Blake Griffin and Other Pro Athletes Take a Stake in Iowa With Farm Purchase Some of the biggest names in pro sports ― a group including Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman — are spending $5 million or more buying U.S. farms, with their first purchase coming in Iowa. The coalition of about two dozen players bought the 104-acre north Iowa farm and plan to acquire more, according to Patricof Co., a specialized private New York investment firm facilitating the deal. The company declined to say how much the Iowa farm cost. Front Office Sports said the sports stars ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - January 3, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 01-03-2023
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$1.7 Trillion Omnibus Bill May Curb Syndicated Conservation Easement Abuse The $1.7 trillion federal spending bill includes a change designed to curb the abuse of tax incentives for land conservation. Federal conservation easements enable property owners to take a charitable deduction when they give up certain rights to develop land. The incentives, which were made permanent by Congress in 2015, help offset the owners’ financial loss for other potential uses for the property. However, misuse of those deductions has been a persistent problem, whereby groups of investors may obtain inflated land appraisals and receive higher tax deductions. The appropriations ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - December 20, 2022

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-19-2022
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5 Characteristics of Record-High Land Sales It seems like you can’t turn around these days without seeing another headline touting record-setting prices for farmland. At least that’s what comes up in my newsfeeds, the most recent one being for $30,000 an acre in Sioux County, Iowa, which lies in northwest Iowa. Just what do they put in their water in Iowa? This sale beat out other recent sales of $26,250 per acre in adjacent Plymouth County, also in Iowa, and a sale of $27,400 per acre in Richardson County, Neb., located in the southeast portion of the state. How do recent Illinois farmland sales compare? Read the Full Story CO2 Pipeline Company Plays ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - December 6, 2022

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-06-2022
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Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven” Movie Ranch Lists For $19.2 Million The 1992 film Unforgiven, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, was one of the most critically acclaimed Westerns of the 1990s. The recipient of four Academy Awards (best picture, best director, best supporting actor and best editing), the film was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry. It was also a major commercial success, grossing $159 million on a budget of $14.4 million. Eastwood, one of his generation’s most famous cowboy actors, made the film to reflect and comment on the Western genre and his own previous work within it. He dedicated the movie ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - November 22, 2022

By ASFMRA Press posted 11-21-2022
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Farmland Values Hit Record Highs, Pricing Out Farmers A series of economic forces — high prices for commodity crops like corn, soybeans and wheat; a robust housing market; low interest rates until recently; and an abundance of government subsidies — have converged to create a “perfect storm” for farmland values, said Jason Henderson, a dean at the College of Agriculture at Purdue University and a former official at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. As a result, small farmers are now going up against deep-pocketed investors, including private equity firms and real estate developers, prompting some experts to warn of far-reaching consequences for the ...
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2022 ASFMRA Awards Presented in San Antonio

By ASFMRA Press posted 11-11-2022
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Andrew Eames Tel. 303.692.1210 Email: aeames@asfmra.org Rural Property Professionals Receive Recognition Awards Given at 2022 ASFMRA Annual Conference in San Antonio November 9, 2022 Glendale, Colo – The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers® (ASFMRA®) honored dozens of rural appraisers, farm managers and consultants at the 2022 ASFMRA Annual Conference on November 9, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas. At the Accreditation and Awards Ceremony, sponsored by Hertz Farm Management, it was announced that 24 ASFMRA members received their Accredited Farm Management (AFM) designation, while an additional ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - November 8, 2022

By ASFMRA Press posted 11-07-2022
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Interest Rate Hikes Not Impacting Illinois Farmland Values, Yet An ag appraiser says multiple interest rate hikes have had little impact on farmland values in Illinois so far. Kent Reid, Chief Appraiser for Farm Credit Illinois tells Brownfield since the Fed began raising rates in May, farmland values in their 60-county territory have remained stable. “We still are not seeing any major effect on farmland. The land values have held steady throughout that.” Read the Full Story Cow-Harming ‘Forever Chemicals’ Strain USDA’s Relief Resources Dairy farmer Art Schaap had to watch his cows slowly die for over three years before the federal government paid ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - October 25, 2022

By ASFMRA Press posted 10-25-2022
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New Record: Iowa Farm Joins the $26,000 Per Acre Club Farmland is still going for record amounts. Just look at this recent sale in Iowa. In Plymouth County, Iowa, a new record was set to the tune of $26,250 per acre. The farmland included 55 acres of high-quality farmland, according to Brock Auction Company, which managed the sale. That means the total bill was $1.44 million. The tracts included 53.8 cropland acres with a 27.11-acre corn base with a 176 bu. PLC Yield index and a 25.74-acre soybean base with a 53 bu. PLC Yield index. The Plymouth County assessor and NRCS office show the main soil types to be Galva with some Primghar and Colo. The farm carries ...
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The Continuing Problem With Septic Tanks

By ASFMRA Press posted 10-19-2022
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By Claudia Gaglione, National Claims Counsel for LIA Administrators & Insurance Services Rural properties and acreage are rarely serviced by public sewers. In many cases, the waste disposal system on site is noted as being a septic system. Unfortunately, problems with the septic system continue to be an ongoing source of claims made against appraisers. We cannot offer any magic language that will keep the appraiser from being sued when a septic system problem comes up; but we might get the appraiser dismissed out of the case after a motion is filed or perhaps, we can convince the Judge, or the mediator, that the appraiser is the least culpable of the ...
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