Blogs

ASFMRA AgNews - August 4, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 2 days ago
Be the first person to recommend this.
Rural Residential Loans on the Rise T r aditional rural lending from farm credit associations in recent years has found a growing market niche in rural residential loans. That has equated to specialized financing for land loans, rural home loans, lot loans, and recreational land loans seeding private spaces for hunting, fishing and horseback riding. Anecdotally, many are aware of conversations tied to the COVID-19 pandemic where millennials on the coasts are assessing whether they should move to the country and leave behind big city living, as their jobs can afford them telecommuting. Baby boomers are more interested, in these times, in getting a small ...
0 comments

2020 Journal Article Feature: Indiana Corn and Soybean Returns to Storage

By Mr. Alex Clark posted 4 days ago
Be the first person to recommend this.
On-farm storage is a common merchandising tool. However, information regarding optimal storage strategies remains incomplete. A recent study published in the 2020 Journal of the ASFMRA sought to provide farm managers a better understanding of the opportunities for earning storage returns and the strategies for doing so that best fit their operations by evaluating historic returns to storage for corn and soybeans in Indiana. To read more on this article, visit here. To view the entire 2020 Journal of the ASFMRA, click here
0 comments

ASFMRA Blog - Should You Hire a Professional Farm Manager?

By ASFMRA Press posted 5 days ago
Be the first person to recommend this.
The term “farm manager” is broadly used to describe a range of job descriptions. Those who look after family land but do not actively farm sometimes call themselves a farm manager. Politicians are sure to add this to their resume, if possible. Or the good neighbor who oversees a few farms may be a “farm manager." While there is nothing wrong with these titles, there is another category that you should be familiar with: the “professional farm manager." Read the full article from Dennis Reyman, AFM, ARA, here
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - July 21, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 18 days ago
Be the first person to recommend this.
Bankers Expect Farm Loan Defaults to Rise This month, bankers estimated that farm loan defaults would rise by 5% over the next 12- month period. This is up slightly from 4.8% registered one year ago. Farmland prices continue to slide, with a July reading of 45.6, down from June’s 46.8. This is the 79th time in the past 80 months the index has been below growth neutral. Falling agriculture commodity prices and farm income have failed to diminish annual farm rents per acre. This month bank CEOs reported average per acre farmland rents of $220 which is almost unchanged from that detailed earlier this year, and four years ago. Read the Full Story Texas ...
0 comments

2020 Journal Article Feature: Decision-Making of Young Operators

By ASFMRA Press posted 20 days ago
Be the first person to recommend this.
The 2017 Census of Agriculture for the first time collected information on decision types at the farm level. Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Assistant Professor Maria Bampasidou and Graduate Research Assistant Whitney McKinzie recently examined the decision-making patterns for U.S. producers, documenting the spectrum of farm-management decisions and highlighting time as an important parameter in decision-making. Read more about this 2020 Journal of the ASFMRA article here
0 comments

Member Spotlight: Kim Larson

By ASFMRA Press posted 25 days ago
Be the first person to recommend this.
Get to know the South Dakota Chapter's Kim Larson! An ASFMRA member since 2014, Ms. Larson is a Certified Real Estate Appraiser at Farm Credit Services America in Pierre, South Dakota. Since becoming the Chapter's Membership Committee Chair in 2017, South Dakota's membership has grown by more than 17%. When did you begin your career in agriculture? Why? I grew up on a cow/calf & grain operation north of Kennebec and west of Lower Brule (South Dakota). So I’ve been involved in ag all my life. How did you come to be involved in the ASFMRA and the South Dakota Chapter? I have a BS in Computer Science from South Dakota State University and an ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - July 7, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 29 days ago
Be the first person to recommend this.
Plummeting Corn and Soybean Prices for Indiana Farmers Currently, corn is priced at around $3.41 per bushel and soybeans are priced at around $8.79 per bushel. At this time last year, corn prices were roughly $4.50 per bushel and soybeans could be sold for closer to $9 per bushel. Prices have been inching up slowly in recent months, but experts say it's hard to predict future trends, especially as the patterns of the coronavirus itself is hard to nail down. Read the Full Story How the Wealthy are Replacing Third- and Fourth-Generation Farmers Many of the farmers in Heber City were aging, and selling their land meant they could retire. Most encouraged ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - June 23, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 06-19-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
$1.65M Solar Farm for Sale in Massachusetts If you've ever wanted to own your own electric utility, here's your opportunity. There's a 2-acre solar farm for sale in Upton for just $1.6 million. As the owner, you'll be providing energy for hundreds of people in the Blackstone River Valley, and officially be part of the National Grid system. Read the Full Story Maryland County Figuring Out Legal Hemp Logistics At the edge of the shadows of the Catoctin Mountains in Keymar, there stands a canopy of glass enclosing 17 acres of plants, protecting them from the cold air outside one afternoon in late February. Most of what was planted inside were flowers ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - June 9, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 06-09-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
COVID-19 Disrupts Agricultural Economy Economic activity declined in all Federal Reserve districts since April 15, according to the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book. The latest Beige Book was released May 20. The report is published eight times a year. It's a summary of anecdotal information on current economic conditions in Federal Reserve districts. Read the Full Story Post-COVID-19 Pandemic: What's It Mean for Agriculture Before the COVID-19 outbreak, massive pandemics seemed relegated to the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. So, could a COVID equivalent happen today in crops? There have been some ominous signs in recent years. In 2005, Asian ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - May 26, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 05-26-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
Low Interest Rates Help Keep Farmland Values Stable An extension ag business management instructor is confident farmland will hold its value as long as interest rates remain low. David Bau with the University of Minnesota says his latest survey of 14 counties in southwest Minnesota shows prices only softened an average of $13 an acre. He attributes that relative strength to continued high cash rents and cheap interest rates. “That helps the borrower if you want to borrow some money for land. It also gives a better opportunity towards investing in land than investing in CD’s at the bank because the interest rates are so poor that the investors might think ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - May 12, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 05-12-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
Future Returns: Farmland Can Create a Well-Balanced Portfolio Mark Twain is credited with the quip: “Buy land, they’re not making anymore of it.” His wisdom could be updated today with the advice to buy farmland.  The world’s population is swelling, so much that global food production needs to increase 50% by 2050, according to the World Resources Institute. Arable land is becoming more scarce, and climate change and extreme weather make it an even more precious commodity.  Read the Full Story Coronavirus Concerns Fuel Drop in Farmer Sentiment A measure of the state of farm country dropped for the second month in a row, “effectively wiping out ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - April 28, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 04-28-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
Free Idaho Potatoes are Feeding People at Home, Across U.S. Like many farmers and ranchers in Idaho, Ryan Cranney began feeling the effects of COVID-19’s disruption in the restaurant supply chain in mid-March. What was supposed to be a good year for Cranney Farms’ crops quickly turned into a surplus he couldn’t sell. That is when he took to Facebook and put out a call for anyone to come get those surplus potatoes — for free. The move resulted in national attention and the arrival of hundreds of people at his farm. Read the full Story. Farmland Values Still Healthy Farmland Market Mostly Ignores Coronavirus, for Now Although farm finances are ...
0 comments

Member Spotlight: Brad Hayes

By ASFMRA Press posted 04-27-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
In this Member Spotlight, get to know ASFMRA Member Brad Hayes, one of the Iowa Chapter Directors. Describe your experience and education related to the property professional field. After working a couple of years in the commercial real estate sector, I transitioned into the agricultural real estate industry and started my career in appraising agricultural real estate assets. My passion for the agricultural industry and experience in real estate led me to this profession. I joined Peoples Company in 2014 and was provided the opportunity to develop the firm’s appraisal division where we worked with clients throughout the Midwest. In January 2020, I took a ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - April 14, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 04-14-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
In a Sea of Red, an Inviting Patch of Green One often overlooked real estate segment has held its ground in the broader market retreat that began in February, and its resilience may help lift its status in the eyes of investors and portfolio managers. "Over the years, I think more and more institutional investors have considered incorporating farmland as part of the portfolio, especially to balance out volatility in the equity market," says Wendong Zhang, ASFMRA Iowa Chapter Academic Vice President and assistant professor of economics at Iowa State University Read the Full Story What are Farmers Thinking About Ag Tech During COVID-19? Many of ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - March 31, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-31-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
Are Appraisals an Essential Service? With the number of states, counties and cities issuing stay-at-home orders increasing every day, the real estate industry is left to quickly interpret whether its functions are considered essential services. With many moving parts and jobs in the real estate process, appraisers, notaries and homebuilders, along with many other roles, are having to individually interpret their local restrictions to see how they can continue operating.  Read the Full Story. COVID-19 Puts Ag Financial Concerns Under a Microscope The gloom and doom of the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to keep uncertainty in the agricultural finance ...
0 comments

President's Message - March 23, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-23-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
Hello to all ASFMRA Members, Staff and Others. How quickly things can change. In my last message dated February 25th, I wrote about my travels across the country each week attending Chapter meetings. Since that date, I have not traveled for obvious reasons. A lot of folks struggle with change, and certainly I do sometimes as well. However, I have found comfort and even excitement in what this adversity might direct us to do better for the organization as a whole, for ourselves and, importantly, for others. Let’s think past the obvious negative things that we are dealing with due to COVID-19 for a moment. The ASFMRA is truly an organization of members who ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - March 17, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-17-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
Stable Land Values Continue Into 2020 Many agricultural experts and economists have been warning for the past few years that we could be headed for a significant correction in farm land values in the Midwest. Land value summaries showed that a reduction in average land values did occur in many regions of the U.S from 2014-16, including the Upper Midwest, before stabilizing in many areas in 2017 and early 2018. Land values have been under pressure in some areas in late 2018 and in 2019, due to reduced crop yields, the ongoing trade war with China, low commodity prices, and reduced farm profitability. However, overall land values have remained fairly stable ...
0 comments

Member Spotlight: Carson Rose

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-05-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
Carson Rose is an ASFMRA member and Past President of the Carolinas Virginias Chapter. Q: Where are you from? A: Home to me is Newton Grove, a small town in Eastern North Carolina. My wife, Kayla, and our two children still reside in my hometown in order to be close to our family farm where I help out part time. Q: Where did you get your college degree? A: My undergraduate degrees are from North Carolina State University in Agricultural Business Management and Agriculture & Environmental Technology. I received my Masters in Business Administration at Campbell University (N.C.). Q: How did you get into the rural property business? A: ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - March 3, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-03-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
Investing in Farmland: A Real Estate Investor's Guide There are approximately 911 million acres of farmland in America, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Farmers and ranchers own about 61% of the land they use, renting the rest from third-party landlords. While other operators own 8% of this land, investors groups (including retired farmers) hold the remaining 31% of America's farmland, with 21% owned by non-operating individuals or partnerships and 10% held by corporations, trusts, or other owners. Given this breakdown, non-farming investors own a small slice of the country's farmland. That piece, however, has been growing as more ...
0 comments

ASFMRA AgNews - February 18, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 02-18-2020
Be the first person to recommend this.
Will 2020 Be The Year The Land Market Tumbles? The land market in 2019 continued the plateau trend of the past several years in which the supply of agricultural land for sale on the market remained lower than average and prices for good quality cropland held mostly steady. Looking ahead to next year, will financial stress from lower commodity prices and poor harvests in some regions cause prices to decline? Farmland sale activity in the first part of 2019 was slower than it had been for some time with late spring and early summer especially void of farms for sale. Planting delays and prevented plantings contributed to the lackluster activity.  Read the ...
0 comments