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  • From: SaladG AT aol.com
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] sobering but possibly stereotypical article?
  • Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:33:11 -0500 (EST)

It is very sobering the way the land is selling in our country.  One farm 15 miles brought 10,825 per acre and another farmer bought it, not investors.  The current land is being bought by the big mega corps that have taken over ag in our part of the country.  I have neighbors that are farming in two and three different states with many and many acres, with lots of subsidy to help them do it.  Land is being bought not by investors but being paid for with the very high corn and bean prices which has more subsidy, the and the fact the ethanol is driving prices up  corn prices to create very inflated prices for food in the grocery stores. Cash rents are going for $480 to $500 per acre as well.  It is a real crazy time around here.
 
I went to a sale the other day that there were 4 people bidding on the piece of dirt, 74 acres, it sold for $9872 per acre and when they were done the winner wrote our a check for it.  That is what is really going on.
 
At our local coffee shop there is 12 sale bills hanging on the board this week for about the next 10 days worth farm sales.  I have seen third generation farm go by the way side.  There has many of millions of dollars changed hands the last month and many more over the rest of the winter.  Our little 160 is worth almost $2 million dollars with the bottom ground, hard to grow vegetables and make this make sense but this will stay with us, been in the family for a few years.
 
 
In a message dated 11/21/2011 8:15:59 A.M. Central Standard Time, KAKerby AT aol.com writes:
Good morning, everyone, and I hope that we're all doing well this holiday week.  I saw this article in Yahoo news today, and was both concerned by this trend, and annoyed by some of the assumptions made in the article:
 
 
It hits particularly close to home because as some of you know, we've been in a slow motion dance here to possibly buy and/or take over a relatively large farm here after renting land on it for several years.  The older farm couple and their extended family are exactly what is described in this article.  We don't really feel like we're ready to take the reins, so to speak.  But the head of that household is mid-80's in age and already each year is whispered about as "maybe his last".  I find myself wondering if we should at least start those conversations in earnest so that family knows that we're at least interested.  It would break my heart to have them summarily sell out to investors while the money is good, while we were getting our ducks in a row. 
 
I'd just be curious if other folks on this list have either gone through a relatively large farmland ownership transition between families, or are preparing to do so.  I know there's programs out there to smooth the path, but again I'm not sure if perhaps it's premature to start those conversations now.  Any comments?
Kathryn Kerby
frogchorusfarm.com
Snohomish, WA
Ruminations - essays on the farming life at frogchorusfarm.com/weblog.html


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