Blogs

Regenerative Agriculture and Carbon Marketplaces

By ASFMRA Press posted 4 days ago
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There’s a growing buzz in farming and the media around regenerative agriculture. While interest in carbon farming is expanding, the rate of adoption remains low due to unfamiliarity and the cost and risk involved in transitioning growing operations. That may change, however, with government and businesses alike committing to creating incentives for farmers to adopt practices designed to improve soil health and potentially increase the amount of carbon in the ground. The arrival of agriculture-oriented carbon marketplaces, where buyers pay farmers for the carbon they capture, could also lead to a faster uptake in regenerative agriculture practices. According ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - April 13, 2021

By ASFMRA Press posted 5 days ago
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In This Issue Regenerative Agriculture and Carbon Marketplaces Upcoming Chapter Events Join the Discussion on the Ag Open Forum (Members Only) Billionaire NFL Owner Quietly Buying Up Thousands of Acres of Illinois Farmland Illinois billionaire Shahid Khan is known for building the automotive parts company Flex ‘N Gate, based in Urbana, IL, into a global manufacturer with 69 facilities around the world. He also is known as the owner of the National Football League team Jacksonville Jaguars and the UK’s Fulham F.C. soccer team. In addition, he has given millions of dollars to his alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - March 30, 2021

By ASFMRA Press posted 19 days ago
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In This Issue Partner with the ASFMRA Member Spotlight: Ronda Newgard 3 Reasons Why You Should Become A Real Property Review Appraiser Property Rights vs. Local Control? Renewables Bill Sparks Debate A bill that would allow neighbors to block wind turbines and solar arrays in the rural corners of Ohio is sparking an intense debate over landowners’ rights and local control. The proposal making its way through the legislature would allow small groups of citizens to block solar and wind farms after they’re already permitted. “People have a right to know how these projects are going to affect their landscape,” one of the sponsors, Sen. Rob ...
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Member Spotlight: Ronda Newgard

By ASFMRA Press posted 19 days ago
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For this member spotlight, we bring you Ronda Newgard, ARA. Ronda has been an ASFMRA member since 2015, and has served as chair of the Membership Committee for the Carolinas-Virginias Chapter since 2018. She currently works as an appraiser for Carolina Farm Credit. When did you begin your career in ag and appraisal? Growing up on a poultry and cattle farm, I have always been around agriculture. However, when I started my appraisal career 20+ years ago, I appraised mainly residential properties. When I was offered a position as a staff appraiser at Carolina Farm Credit, I jumped at the chance to focus on more agriculture and specialized properties. Since I ...
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Member Spotlight: Travis Shaykett

By ASFMRA Press posted 24 days ago
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For this Member Spotlight, we're sharing a profile on Travis Shaykett, who serves as a Committee Chair for the South Dakota Chapter of the ASFMRA. Travis works as an appraiser for the family business, Shaykett Appraisal Company, and is based out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. When did you begin your career in agriculture? While agriculture has always been in my family, my career in ag began when I started my appraisal career in 2008. After college I started working in the family business which included appraising agricultural properties. Describe your experience and education related to the property professional field (appraisal, farm management, consulting, ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - March 16, 2021

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-15-2021
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In This Issue Free Webinar: Business Transition Free Member Exclusive: Financial Markets & Economic Update AgProLink: Join the Discussion Ranching, Rodeo and a Generational Family’s Struggle to Maintain Their Western Way of Life Along a steep, dusty path, Bill Wright reaches a flat enclave of red dirt and scattered rock. In the distance, soaring sandstone walls jut into the glowing evening sky. Up here, among the pinyon pines and sage, it’s quiet. Serene. Almost eerily so. On a clear day, the horizon stretches some 60 miles south, all the way into Arizona. Bill’s pretty proud of that — and rarely misses a chance to say so. “I still ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - March 2, 2021

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-01-2021
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In This Issue 2020-2021 USPAP Extension Appraiser Resource: Rural Valuation Topics Member Spotlight: Sarah Baskins A Different Kind of Land Management: Let the Cows Stomp Adam Isaacs stood surrounded by cattle in an old pasture that had been overgrazed for years. Now it was a jumble of weeds. “Most people would want to get out here and start spraying it” with herbicides, he said. “My family used to do that. It doesn’t work.” Instead, Mr. Isaacs, a fourth-generation rancher on this rolling land in the northeast corner of the Texas Panhandle, will put his animals to work on the pasture, using portable electrified fencing to confine them ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - February 16, 2021

By ASFMRA Press posted 02-16-2021
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In This Issue Upcoming ASFMRA Courses Solar's Impact On Rural Property Values Member Spotlight: Grant Aschinger Flagler, For Free For the past 15 years, two billboards have stood on the city limits of Flagler, Colorado, waiting to greet those who may be looking for a place to land. From 10 feet in the air overlooking I-70 and Flagler, the two signs deliver their proclamatory message: “Got Land! Got Water! All we need is you.” Flagler is a rarity in the West — it’s offering land without a price tag to someone willing to stake a future in the town. Situated in eastern Colorado, this small town is an agricultural community — akin more ...
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Solar’s Impact on Rural Property Values

By ASFMRA Press posted 02-15-2021
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The difference that experience makes when it comes to the perceived and actual impacts of solar on nearby property values. In recent years, publicity surrounding solar farms has gained the attention of property owners and appraisers. As with any large-scale development, the change represented by utility-scale solar can be cause for concern. Naysayers express worries involving impacts to viewshed, drainage problems, the idea of replacing productive agricultural lands with an industrial use, and more. Much of this worry comes back to one thing: the potential impact on property values. A recently completed study from the University of Rhode Island looked ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - February 1, 2021

By ASFMRA Press posted 02-01-2021
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In This Issue Upcoming Chapter Events [Members Only] Join the Conversation at AgProLink China Books Biggest Deal Yet for U.S. Corn China booked its biggest purchase of U.S. corn yet, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday, buying more at once than any country except the Soviet Union 30 years ago, as it tries to meet a surge in demand for animal feed. The purchase, and a string of deals earlier this week, mean China is on course to become the world’s largest corn importer. Its buying spree has driven up global prices of corn and other grains and may stoke food inflation in economies already reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. USDA ...
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Member Spotlight: Henry Gordon

By ASFMRA Press posted 01-25-2021
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Henry Gordon, AFM, is a member of the Mid-South Chapter of the ASFMRA. He joined the ASFMRA in September of 2020 and earned his AFM designation not too long after that, in November. Henry works as the Vice President and Trust Real Estate Manager at First Horizon Bank in Memphis, Tennessee. When did you begin your career in agriculture? I began working for First Horizon Bank in their trust division. The bank felt I might be a good fit for managing trust real estate because of my background in forestry and the environment. Since I began working with farmland assets, I have found managing farm assets to be extremely engaging and enjoyable. What ag issues ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - January 18, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 01-17-2021
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In This Issue Webinar: Ag Policy And The New Administration Member Spotlight: Elizabeth Heaton, AFM Upcoming Chapter Events America’s Biggest Owner Of Farmland Is Now Bill Gates Bill Gates, the fourth richest person in the world and a self-described nerd who is known for his early programming skills rather than his love of the outdoors, has been quietly snatching up 242,000 acres of farmland across the U.S. — enough to make him the top private farmland owner in America. After years of reports that he was purchasing agricultural land in places like Florida and Washington, The Land Report revealed that Gates, who has a net worth of nearly ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - January 5, 2021

By ASFMRA Press posted 01-04-2021
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In This Issue Course: 15 Hour USPAP, Basic Principles and Procedures Seminar: Ag Lands in Transition Blog: 3 Reasons You Should Become a Real Property Review Appraiser Member Spotlight: Joel Ambrose The Positive Impact of Broadband on Farm Productivity The FCC’s Office of Economics and Analytics released a new paper titled “Impact of Broadband Penetration on U.S. Farm Productivity.” This report finds that broadband availability has significant positive impacts on crop yields and other farm production metrics. The working paper analyzes the impact of increased broadband availability in rural areas on the productivity of U.S. farms, ...
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3 Reasons Why You Should Become a Real Property Review Appraiser

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-31-2020
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Many professions have some form of quality control, and appraising is no different. Appraisal reports, like the products of any other industry, sometimes require extra due diligence in order to boost client confidence, or to ensure compliance with government regulations and requirements. That’s when review appraisers step in to offer their services. A review appraiser ensures that the right data was selected and reviewed in the original valuation, and assesses the underlying methods and analysis to ensure that the conclusion follows logically from the information included in the report.  With the additional complexities commonly found in rural properties, the ...
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Member Spotlight: Melissa Halpin

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-30-2020
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For this spotlight, we're sharing a highlight of Melissa Halpin from the Illinois Chapter. Along with Elizabeth Heaton, Melissa will be leading the chapter's Young Professionals Network (YPN) through the coming year. Melissa has previous organizing experience with the ASFMRA, and she served as Chair of the Illinois Chapter Summer Tour in 2016. Background: I grew up on a registered Holstein dairy farm in Sheldon, Illinois – Iroquois County. I graduated with a bachelor’s in agriculture economics with a focus on farm and financial management from the University of Illinois. While at U of I was a member of the 4-H House sorority. Today I now reside with my two ...
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Member Spotlight: Joel Ambrose

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-21-2020
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For this entry, we're sharing a Member Spotlight from the ASFMRA's Iowa Chapter.  Joel Ambrose joined the Society in 2014, and is currently pursuing his ARA while serving as a Chapter Director in Iowa.  Can you describe your experience and education related to the land professional field? My experience in rural appraisal started back at Oklahoma State University. My senior year I took a farm appraisal class and I really enjoyed it. My first career move in the industry was with the Commissioners of the Land Office with the State of Oklahoma. The Commissioners of the Land Office is a state organization that manages the property that is owned by the state for the ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - December 22, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-21-2020
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Farms Weather Uncertain Financial Times During Pandemic When the novel coronavirus arrived in Oregon earlier this year, turning daily life on its head, Bryan Henney, a commercial banking officer at Columbia Bank, was swamped with calls from his clients in farming and agribusiness. "Really, the business community in its entirety was just gripped by fear," Henney remembers. "I was getting phone calls from my clients, even prospects that didn't work with me, concerned about what was happening. Northwest farms and food processors faced a monumental task ahead to comply with strict orders to protect worker health while remaining open as essential businesses ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - December 8, 2020

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-06-2020
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Challenges in Setting 2021 Land Rental Rates Once harvest is completed in any given year, farm operators and non-farm landowners begin the tenuous task of negotiating annual land rental rates for the following crop year. Approximately 60-70% of crop land in the Upper Midwest is under a land rental agreement, and most rental agreements are negotiated on an annual basis. Arriving at equitable land rental rates for the 2021 crop year is even more of a challenge, given the variable crop yields in 2020 and the unexpected rise in grain market prices, as well as fairy high levels of government farm program payments during 2020. In the past, many land rental arrangements ...
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Member Spotlight: Tyler Walsh

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-03-2020
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For this Member Spotlight, we're highlighting Tyler Walsh, ARA, from Fargo, North Dakota. Tyler is a member of both the Minnesota and North Dakota Chapters of the ASFMRA, and currently works for Crown Appraisals, Inc. Tyler joined the ASFMRA in 2015, and we want to congratulate him on recently earning his ARA designation. How did you begin your career in ag appraisal? Growing up on a dairy farm in Minnesota, I've been surrounded by agriculture my whole life. However, my career in ag appraisal didn't start until I joined Crown Appraisals in 2015. In college, my original plan was to become an accountant for a public or private accounting firm, but I was led ...
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State Board Complaints Arising from Rural Property Appraisals

By ASFMRA Press posted 11-24-2020
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Typically, the properties that generate complaints are unique properties. There is usually acreage and oftentimes outbuildings of various types, plus these parcels are far apart from one another. Comps are rarely found within a mile of the subject. Sometimes comps are located miles away, often in another town. Rural properties typically contain a variety of outbuildings, such as sheds, barns and even guesthouses or accessory dwellings. Some properties are zoned for horses and have corrals. Findings comps with similar features can be difficult. When a state board investigator is asked to look at one of these reports, they rarely take issue with the comparable ...
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