Ag News

Once, Twice, Sold! 80 Acres in Iowa Sold for $22,600 Per Acre, Sets New State Record

The bull-run on Iowa farmland sales continues to play out in August. Less than two weeks after a piece of farm ground in Iowa sold for $19,000 per acre, a new record sale was posted in Iowa Friday, cashing in at $22,600 per acre. That tops the previous record by $300 per acre.

The sale was on 80 acres of ground in Grundy County, Iowa, which is located west of Waterloo.

“The farm did have a wind turbine on it,” says Jim Rothermich, ARA, of Iowa Appraisal and Research. “The buyer was an investor-buyer, and the runner-up was also an investor. So, the wind turbine income stream did help the purchase price reach that high, but most of that 80 acres, or the lion’s share, was all farmland.”

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200-Acre Bison Ranch in Hawaii Lists for $32 Million

Hanalei Bison Ranch is settled on the North shore of Kauai in Hawaii. It boasts a panoramic of lush, green trees and river access to Hanalei Bay. Neal Norman of Hawai’i Life describes it as having “crazy-amazing views.”

And it features 89 of America’s 500,000 remaining bison on its 200-plus acres. The place is “as rare as it gets” according to Norman, and currently listed at $32 million.

With Covid-19 hitting the U.S., many people looked to Hawaii as a place to escape; on Kauai’s North shore, “home sales increased 346% in the second quarter of 2021, compared to the same time period last year,” according to Mansion Global. Hanalei Bay is ideal for this influx of new residents; white sandy beaches, looming mountains, lush fields, forests, and marshland.

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Hurricane Ida Damages Louisiana Grain Terminal, Disrupts Exports

Hurricane Ida damaged a grain export elevator owned by global grain trader Cargill Inc, and rival shipper CHS Inc warned on Monday its grain facility may lack power for weeks after the storm tore though the busiest U.S. grains port.

Cargill said its Reserve, Louisiana, terminal, one of two the company operates along the Mississippi River near the Gulf of Mexico, “sustained significant damage” when the storm roared ashore.

Rival crop exporters Bunge Ltd and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co said they were working to assess damage to their area export facilities.

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After Years of Shrinking, Conservation Reserve to Expand This Year

The federal program that pays landowners to take environmentally fragile land out of crop production to prevent erosion, protect water quality, and preserve wildlife habitat will expand for the first time this year after losing ground annually since 2007. The USDA said on Monday that it expected a net gain in acreage in the Conservation Reserve Program, which was retooled in April to help slow climate change.

By the end of this year, as many as 4 million acres could be added to the reserve, now at its smallest size, 20.6 million acres, since 1987. The reserve, which was created in 1986 during the agricultural recession, pays landowners an annual rent in exchange for idling fragile land for 10 or 15 years. It is the largest U.S. land diversion program.

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[Watch] Market Day Report with Dennis Reyman

President Dennis Reyman, AFM, ARA, appears on RFD-TV's Market Day Report to talk crops after the release of the ASFMRA's fourth Crop Conditions Report.

Watch the Video Here

ASFMRA Government Relations Update

House Passes Budget Resolution

On a party line vote (220 -212), the House passed a FY 2022 Budget Resolution last week that sets the stage for the Democrats to legislate a $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” bill via a budget reconciliation process. The Senate had previously passed the budget resolution.

The budget resolution provides a non-binding “blueprint” for legislators to craft the reconciliation package. The reconciliation process will be highly partisan. While the various Committees will hold mark-ups, hearings and bipartisanship will not take place as Republicans are expected to not support the Democrats plans for a human infrastructure bill.

Nearly every Congressional Committee will be involved in marking-up their respective piece. The Agriculture Committees (House and Senate) have instructions to spend roughly $135 billion over ten years. The expectation is that the bulk of those funds will go towards nutrition and conservation programs.

USDA Announces CFAP 2 Updates for Livestock, Poultry Contract Producers and Specialty Crop Growers

USDA is updating CFAP 2 for contract producers of eligible livestock and poultry and producers of specialty crops and other sales-based commodities. Additionally, FSA has set an Oct. 12 deadline for all eligible producers to apply for or modify applications for CFAP 2. The changes made by USDA allow producers to select a different base period (2018 instead of 2019), if preferred, to determine losses that resulted during 2020.

Additional flexibilities have been added to account for increases to operation size in 2020 and situations where a contract producer did not have a full period of revenue from Jan. 1 to Dec. 27 for either 2018 or 2019. Assistance is also available to new contract producers who began their farming operation in 2020.

CRP Acres to Increase

FSA has accepted 2.8 million acres in offers from agricultural producers and private landowners for enrollment into the CRP in 2021. This year, almost 1.9 million acres in offers have been accepted through the General CRP Signup, and the FSA has accepted over 897,000 acres for enrollment through the Continuous Signup. The Continuous Signup remains open, and CRP Grasslands Signup closed last week, so USDA expects to enroll more acres into all of CRP than the 3 million acres that are expiring this year.

By the end of this year, as many as 4 million acres could be added. The CRP, which was created in 1986 during the agricultural recession, pays landowners an annual rent in exchange for idling fragile land for 10 or 15 years. It is the largest U.S. land diversion program. The Biden Administration offered higher rental rates and larger incentive payments this year to boost participation. The higher incentive payments included a 10 percent inflation adjustment in rental rates and the creation of a Climate-Smart Practice Incentive of 3 to 10 percent based on the activity adopted, such as planting grasses or restoring wetlands.

Welcome New Members

Help us welcome our newest members to ASFMRA! We are thrilled that you have chosen ASFMRA as the organization to be affiliated with. Because of you, ASFMRA continues to grow and support rural property professionals across the nation!

We are recognizing new members of the Society on a monthly basis. You may recognize your colleagues in the following list and we encourage you to welcome them into ASFMRA!

New Members
Cody Harris in Capac, MI (Michigan Chapter)
Nicholas Hoffman with Hertz Farm Management in Nevada, IA (Iowa Chapter)
Gregory Jeffery with Crestview Farms in Morrilton, AR (Mid-South Chapter)
Boomer Murray with Therese Clark Agriculture, LLC in Visalia, CA (California Chapter)
Gabriel Sampson with Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS (Kansas Chapter)
James Shaeffer with Midwest Land Group in Humboldt, SD (South Dakota Chapter)

Earning accreditation with the ASFMRA requires hard work and perseverance.  a special congratulations is due to the following newly accredited members:

Austin Bunger, AFM with Farmers National Company in Spencer, South Dakota
Jordan Fielding, ARA with Robert Morrison Appraisal in Idaho Falls, Idaho
Eric Geiger, AFM with Peoples Company in Omaha, Nebraska
Monte Ireland, AFM with Hancock Farmland Services in Savoy, Illinois
Colton Lacina, AFM with Farmers National Company in Hudson, Iowa
Nikki Mertz, ARA in Carrington, North Dakota
Jake Miller, AFM with Hertz Farm Management in Cedar Falls, Iowa
Levi Mitchum, AFM in Yakima, Washington
Steve Niemeier, ARA with Farm Credit Illinois in Mulberry Grove, Illinois
Josh Peak, AFM with Field Level Agriculture, Inc. in Springfield, Illinois
Brant Peterson, AFM with Winsome Ag Services in Johnson, Kansas
Kathy Pettinger, ARA with Hertz Appraisal Services in Nevada, Iowa
Kyle Spray, AFM with Farmers National Company in Lafayette, Indiana
Brooks Wall, AFM with Regions Bank - Birmingham, Alabama
Justin Wheeler, AFM with First Mid Ag Services in Decatur, Illinois
Brad Woodson, AFM with McHenry County Conservation District in Woodstock, Illinois

Share Your Experience - Make a Referral

You know first-hand what a great organization ASFMRA is and what it means to you both professionally and personally. We thank you for spreading the word, you are the driving force behind our continued growth! Talk to those you know who would benefit from ASFMRA’s educational offerings, networking, and meetings. Let them know your experiences of being involved in this great association and some of the business contacts you have made along with lasting friendships. Your peers listed below have done just that! They spoke to individuals about ASFMRA and those individuals have now become members of ASFMRA!

Ray Bartholomew
Jeral Gross

Thank you to all who have referred someone and in some cases, more than one, to join ASFMRA.

In Memory: Richard A. Stephens, Little Rock, Arkansas

The ASFMRA was honored and pleased to welcome Richard into the membership in 1971. Richard earned his Accredited Rural Appraiser designation and maintained his status as an Accredited member with the ASFMRA and the Mid-South Chapter. He also served on the Appraisal Education/Accrediting Committee and was Chair of the Ethics Committee for a three year period. Richard was widely recognized for his significant contributions to the appraisal profession as an educator and in his commitment to ethics. His family is in our thoughts and prayers. See more of Richard’s life by clicking here.