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Monday 2 January 2012

On eve of caucus, a different boom in Iowa: Real estate prices soar for farmland

Mon Jan 2, 2012 9:43 AM EST

By Jessica Hopper
Rock Center
It’s the home stretch of campaigning for Republican presidential candidates ahead of the caucuses in Iowa. On Tuesday night, they’ll fold up their tried-and-true stump speeches about the state of the economy – high unemployment and faltering property values; even though in Iowa, unemployment is (well) below the national average and farms are selling for millions of dollars.
In Iowa, farmland is king with prices per acre soaring more than 30 percent in the last year, sending everyone from local farmers to out-of-towners clamoring to buy land. Demand for farmland has created a real estate boom not only in Iowa but across the Midwest.
Farmland values are 25 percent higher than a year ago across Midwestern states like Illinois and Indiana, according to the Federal Reserve of Chicago.
“They’re not coming out here to tell us how to fix our economy,” said Dan Piller of the presidential contenders vying for caucus votes in Iowa.
Piller is a reporter for The Des Moines Register and covers agriculture and bio-fuels. He’s watched rising corn prices in the state translate into booming land prices.

“The price of corn has about tripled in the last five years. The price of corn essentially sets the price of farming. Agriculture is throwing off about twice as much cash as it did just four years ago,” Piller told Rock Center correspondent Harry Smith.
That means farmland is more valuable than ever. Realtor Jason Smith has lived in Iowa his entire life and has never seen land prices as high as they are right now.
“You got a 32 percent increase in the price of land over the last 12 months. That’s historic,” said Smith.
Smith owns a company called Dreamdirt. Standing in the midst of a 9-acre field, Smith estimated the field was worth $45,000.
“I sell farmland, real estate, stuff that people dream about. I’ve always said, I think everybody’s got a little bit of farmer in them,” Smith said.
People are visiting Iowa from around the country, hoping to buy into the farm life.
“There isn’t a kind of person that I haven’t heard from somewhere, whether it’s the farmers from North Dakota, whether it’s a police officer from New York, bankers in Chicago and attorneys from the south. People, and especially business owners that have cash to park, are bringing it up here to Iowa, bringing it up to the Midwest,” Smith said.
New Yorker Patrick Goetz is among those hoping to buy land.
“This is God’s country out here. This is just something I would just enjoy to retire out here, live the rest of my life. I would love to get into farming,” said Goetz, a police officer.
Goetz said that he previously invested in the stock market, but feels land is a more stable investment.
“You get some income off of this. You have income generated every day by renting the tillable ground out. It’s a great investment,” Goetz said.
Long-time farmers are buying their neighbors’ farms, land that they thought would never be for sale.
“We buy land as fast as we can afford it,” Jay Mennenga said.
Brothers Marlyn and Jay Mennenga recently purchased 76 acres, bringing the total acres they farm to 5000 acres. A good portion of the new land was paid for in cash.
“You got to push a pencil before you spend the money. You got to know how you’re going to pay for it and it’s basically, farming’s a business like any other business,” Jay Mennenga said. “You got to have a game plan.”
Auctioneers are selling an acre of land for as much as $20,000, said auctioneer Jeffrey Obrecht. Obrecht has been an auctioneer for over 20 years and says the prices today make a “once in a lifetime deal.”
“Last year, I did about, little over 5,000 acres for about $24 million,” Obrecht said.
Life on the farm wasn’t always so good. Tim Meyer, a fourth-generation farmer, has grown up seeing the highs and lows of land prices.
Meyer’s father once lost two farms during the 1980s when interest rates soared and land prices dropped.
“When I went to school, when I was 5 years old, there were 44 full-time farmers, that’s all they did,” said the 35-year-old Meyer. “When I graduated, there were four full-time farmers left.”
While Meyer also works as a realtor, helping others sell their farms, he’s not willing to sell his own land.
“I think the mentality is that the farmer has become wealthy overnight,” Meyer said. “Are those farmers really going to sell that ground? You know, I don’t think any farmer, especially any of my ancestors, really did it because of the pure fact to make money. It’s a way of life. It’s a way to raise a family. It’s somewhat of a legacy. It’s much more important to me to pass on my family farm to the next generation than it would ever be to sell it.”
Meyers said that farm heirs that have no interest in farming are often the ones selling the lucrative dirt.
“Most of the farms that we’re seeing sold are estates and basically, what I’ve seen more than anything is the farms that are being sold, the heirs don’t have any farming interest. So, they’re taking them to auction or selling them privately or whatever means they chose there,” Meyer said.
The worry for some is that the high land prices are part of a bubble that will soon burst.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Meyer said.
“We’re in times that we’ve never been in before, number one. So are we in a bubble…I don’t know,” he said.
Piller of The Des Moines Register said that the farmers who are buying up their neighbor’s land usually have to put 40 to 50 percent down on a farm loan.
“So these are not sub-prime loans that they’re making out here. This is not like the same thing. Farmers have the cash to do it,” Piller said.
Piller said that small community banks that traditionally lend to farmers are reporting soft loan demand.
“So the bankers say that if you have, if it’s a bubble, it probably won’t be on the lending side,” Piller said. “It may very well be, would be, on the manufacturing side because Iowa is one of the few states to show an increase in manufacturing jobs.”
Still, Piller says people are buying with urgency.
“Farmland doesn’t come on the market that often. It’s not like urban real estate where you see signs in the neighborhoods all the time. A good piece of farmland may only come, become available once every 50 years,” Piller said.
Editor’s Note: Harry Smith’s full report, ‘Field$ of Dream$,’ airs Monday, January 2 at 10 pm/9c on Rock Center with Brian Williams.

— Filed under: economy, real-estate, iowa-caucus, harry-smith, farmland

333

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elmo-1940954

My question is, this can't be the best the Republican party can come with.??? Donald Trump sure looks better than all of these, "ADDED TOGETHER"..!

9 votes

#1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 10:08 AM EST

DarwinG

Maybe true, but they all look better than what we have today!!! My question is, who the f taught you grammar/punctuation? I would ask for a refund but hey maybe thats the change you voted for!!!

14 votes

#1.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 10:58 AM EST

truthhurts402

Darwin, gawd what a name, who made you teacher for the day?

11 votes

#1.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:10 AM EST

Elmo is better?

7 votes

#1.3 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 12:02 PM EST

shouldofwouldofcouldof

Looks like teacher left out some necessary punctuation too.

I would ask for a refund, but hey maybe that's the change you voted for!!!

And maybe a comma needed after the word hey too.
Teacher gets an F.

14 votes

#1.4 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 12:09 PM EST

about that

Are you people forgetting that the President means nothing. As titular head of our Government he can only cheer for his party in Congress to hopefully vote his proposed agenda. But the Corporations and Uber Wealthy (>$10B) buy their interests from the Congress and at the end of the day that is where things are done - or left undone.
Wake up and push - I mean SCREAM for Campaign finance reform and better checks and balances to Congress. At least 80% of both Chambers are Millionaires. Birds of a feather and all that $hit!

30 votes

#1.5 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 1:10 PM EST

People please ! Don't mess with Darwins head you don't know where its been!

8 votes

#1.6 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 1:36 PM EST

Grinspoon97

about that...But the Corporations and Uber Wealthy (>$10B) buy their interests from the Congress
Looks like everybody loses - counter with the unions and media to influence Congress. Balance with the Corporations and Wealthy and you get money driven, money spending, favor spreading government.
Maybe the OWS and Tea Party are the only true joes out there. So pick your mob and get out there and let's have a Mao style Cultural Revolution of our own.

5 votes

#1.7 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:09 PM EST

ROY WILSON-336103

"The worry for some is that the high land prices are part of a bubble that will soon burst."
Food prices are going up (they already have), and the Fed has printed so much money that there is a lot of cash floating around.
To me, that makes a 'bubble' inevitable. Since the Stock Market is seen as too volatile, and there are few other reliable options available, this is just the latest 'fad', which will soon inflate even more until it bursts.
This happened in the 1980s when the Japanese came in with all of their cash and bought lots of land, which then went bust. Now it's probably the turn of the Chinese.

4 votes

#1.8 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:57 PM EST

Gary Root

This article is about the price of farm land, and you guys seem to be talking about everything else!

4 votes

#1.9 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:00 PM EST

theboys

About 15 years ago, land in my neck of the midwest was selling for about 300/acre. True, the land is mostly sandy soil. Now that same land is about 3,000/acre and rising quickly. We own farmland. We farm it partly ourselves and rent out the rest.
Here is what nobody in this article is telling you that I know first hand. Many farmers like the rest of the over-spenders is neck high in debt. Those paying cash as suggested in this article are not the small farmer with less than 200 acres. I live around pretty much nothing but farmers. Many have gone belly-up a few times in the past 10 years, and others have leveraged their farmland to keep buying equipment and put in irrigation systems. So they had better hope commodity prices keep rising with land value going up as well, because for many if they sold their farms they would owe more than it is worth.
BTW, land values in Iowa are very high because the quality of the dirt in many parts is superior.
I have grown to hate bubbles.

5 votes

#1.10 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:25 PM EST

G. Bud

Orchestrated Corporate land grabs, They won't be happy till they own everything.
I think the housing bubble was a profiteering scam too.

4 votes

#1.11 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:27 PM EST

Sparks224

That's true, and Donald Trump's an idiot.

2 votes

#1.12 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:45 PM EST

demmie-1555521

Farmland in Iowa is costing more because there's nowhere to put all that Bulls--t that's being spread out during the Iowa Caucuses.It's piling up and it won't do no good in one place.Someone found a good use for the land,and a good price.

2 votes

#1.13 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 4:05 PM EST

Thel4ugh!ngm@n

wait so the rescession is Over? Brandy all around!
oh...wait no....

1 vote

#1.14 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 4:20 PM EST

fenderbluesjr

A farm is a business,nothing more. If the land value is rising because of climbing food prices,good luck with that investment! A mortgage is 30yrs! If you could accurately predict the stock market 3 days in advance you'd be among the richest people in the world.

1 vote

#1.15 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 4:56 PM EST

petegermany

Boy, You,re so right.

1 vote

#1.16 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 5:03 PM EST

BILL-1040759

It will be mostly corporate farming in a while. With insurance companys and big businessmen like Glenn Taylor the Timberwolves owner and Paul Moliter and his brothers buying the land away, the smaller farmer is doomed. Its not just these guys tho, it is guys like this all over the nation. They dont want to farm, they just want the big profits of the great grain markets are offering. They shop out the farming.

18 votes

#2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 10:30 AM EST

marlen101917

I know the Chinese are buying lots of farm land around the world especially in Africa. Does anyone know if they are buying farm land in places like Iowa yet?

3 votes

#2.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:03 AM EST

ALSDKFJLDSJFLASDJF

Don't believe foreign buyers are allowed to buy farmland in Iowa. It's all about protecting the US food supply.

5 votes

#2.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:18 AM EST

Pam Montgomery

Actually, I would tend to speculate that some of the farm land being bought up is by farmers from the South..i.e. Texas.
Many farmers have had to abandon their crops/livestock from the drought. Many are selling their drought ravished properties, searching for more fertile farmland. People go where the water is.
NWS indicated that the drought will continue down there. Feed lots and grain will bring a premium for cattle/ feed ranchers.

1 vote

#2.3 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 12:05 PM EST

Dr. JoAnna Graller-2543304

Their goes food prices, more inflation, out of control finances, another rich man take all. this will push up Taxes and cause every one to sell, by necessity! its another takeover. wake up and smell the stench!

2 votes

#2.4 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 1:42 PM EST

Heartlight3

What happens when they un-subsidize corn ethanol and corn is no longer in such demand?

9 votes

#2.5 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:18 PM EST

Can't disagree with Bill at 104059- As a transplant from Michigan,it pains me to see this lovely rolling hillside lost to the shisters. Hay people, if you don't take a look at the rotten members of Congress's millionairs and boot their behinds out you are part of the problem! Rep's and Dem's alike. Get the money out is part of the goal, however, the big concern of mine is VOTERS RIGHTS! No matter what party, that is a right that really needs protecting. Brain dead so far has not tampered with that here in Iowa! But, his kid got off killing someone, with his car, while another went to jail! That's what being a Governors son will get you---a get out of jail free card.

1 vote

#2.6 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:33 PM EST

Gary Root

Farming profits have a history of wild gyrations and changes. Farmers will make a bundle one year and then loose money for the next 10. It is a precarious and risky business. Farmers need to make some money sometimes if we are to continue to feed ourselves.

1 vote

#2.7 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:03 PM EST

mo monster

China currently owns over 30,000 acres in Iowa. They have a rep in the state with a blank check for any farmland he can buy. Chuck Grazely is the Chinese front man in Iowa. Wouldn't you know another Republican Sold out for Money. Vote against all incumbants they are the problem.

#2.8 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 7:50 PM EST

fll

The next bubble to burst

2 votes

#3 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 10:40 AM EST

sweaver209

As long as you and the world enjoy eating it's not!! We still feed the world, and they can pay the price of inflated farm land. The waste of using corn for ethenal is not good, that's one of the prime increases in corn prices.

9 votes

#3.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 10:52 AM EST

mikela

And those ethanol subsidies are about to go away. As well they should. What it doesn't say is what these farmlands are being used to grow but then again, it sure as heck isn't going to be potatoes. No big subsidies there.

11 votes

#3.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:02 AM EST

If your smart you wont grow anything ,crops are a gamble! put your land in the land bank and Uncle Sam will pay you not to grow crops, that's a win!

#3.3 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 1:48 PM EST

Ag515

Hey D-buck, explain how this would work? I haven't heard the term land bank since I was in elementary school in the 70's, so maybe you should tell me where it is and how I sign up for it?
All of the government programs that I am aware of require farmed land to be taken out of production. The land that qualifies for most government programs is generally the poorest quality- HEL, riparian buffer, wetlands, etc... Those programs pay around $120/acre if you get it signed up right. Farmland in Iowa averaged $6700 in 2011. Given those rates, that is a 1.79% return on investment BEFORE property taxes and interest. Plus, the ground needs to be seeded to some sort of approved seeding mix and the noxious weeds have to be maintained. The last I checked, seed, chemicals and labor are not free. I guess my definition of a 'win' is different than yours, but then, I'm just a dumb dirt farmer.
If you're smart, you will grow food- almost everyone I know eats and there are going to be more eaters in 10 years than there are today.

#3.4 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 6:19 PM EST

JIM-3096515

Keep in ming with world grain supply and demand price for farmland will only go up.
This is not like the 80,s when most land was bought on loans and with little down money.
Todays farmers are much more management driven and for the most part will not get into the problems farmers had in the 80,s
While land to day does not bring a great return it is for the most part better than other markets.

1 vote

#4 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 10:49 AM EST

Drive up the cost of land, the taxes increase! the average person is forced to sell (family Farmers) corporate farms take over at less value than previously assessed, the market becomes stable and corporations now control all the food, pay no taxes, charge what the market will bare, cause what shortages they want. control the masses now 99% sheeple. This is a bad thing.

3 votes

#4.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:01 PM EST

ed haas

The earth is Gods country and it's not for sale.

4 votes

#5 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 10:50 AM EST

Fritz-2712801

Everything and anything is for sale if the price is high enough!

8 votes

#5.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:33 AM EST

Stop The Hypocrisy

Even God (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Republican Party and Fox News these days)

4 votes

#5.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 1:33 PM EST

Tony-3122279

I could not agree with you more. I am an Iowa native who now lives in colorado. both here and at home people have torn up good land too. Greedy people have depleted resources and carved up the beautiful, natural landscape so that they can barf up more tract housing. I was so bothered going home years ago to see a favorite spot of mine with woodland and a large marsh now unrecognizable just 13 years later due to real estate. Part of the Marsh was now a small "pond" as part of someones back yard. Rows of homes with indistinguishable features and streets with names that implied nature and tranquility. Colorado is no better. The people build all over the mountains and foothills and then get upset when a mountain lion runs off with their stupid toddler or dog!

1 vote

#5.3 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:43 PM EST

Wha? People shouldn't be upset when a mountain lion kills their toddler? What if it were your toddler, or, even better, your mother?

#5.4 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:15 PM EST

its a hazard you signed up for
i would be upset but i wont complain
you picked the spot, you decided to run into thier habitat n screw it all up
you can think only human can be the "natives"
animals are the natives
im not even an activist, they decided to chew up an entire forest, up the mountain where the bears live. a week later, theres a protest in town hall about BEARS
REALLY?!
greedy bastards will get every single inch if they can gander a profit outtha that hell hole

#5.5 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:30 PM EST

As an animal (Homo sapiens sapiens), I declare any land occupied by human animals to be human territory. Any animals that object, be it bear or mountain lion, can go piss up a rope and leave us alone.

#5.6 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 4:02 PM EST

Jean321

Armando--you're a dimwit. What an idiot! I've read a lot of ridiculous things in my life, but none as stupid as your "homo sapiens sapiens" comment. (By the way, are you referring to homo sapiens???? Whatever word YOU wrote in those parenthesis doesn't exist.) What makes you think "man" deserves to live and is sooo far above "animals" in importance????? You go piss on a rope, or better yet, be hung by one.

#5.7 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 6:42 PM EST

Homo sapiens sapiens is simply the full name of our subspecies. It's supposed to differentiate ourselves from the other subspecies of human, homo sapiens idaltu, which has been extinct for 160,000 years.

"Modern humans" are defined as the Homo sapiens species, of which the only extant subspecies is known as Homo sapiens sapiens. Homo sapiens idaltu (roughly translated as "elder wise human"), the other known subspecies, is now extinct.^[17] Homo neanderthalensis, which became extinct 30,000 years ago, has sometimes been classified as a subspecies, "Homo sapiens neanderthalensis"; genetic studies now suggest that the functional DNA of modern humans and Neanderthals diverged 500,000 years ago.^[18] Similarly, the discovered specimens of the Homo rhodesiensis species have been classified by some as a subspecies, but this classification is not widely accepted.

What makes you think "man" deserves to live and is sooo far above "animals" in importance?

We are the dominant species on this planet, and are capable of great acts of reason and beauty. I value the lives of humans over animals. Besides, as Maddox says, if an asteroid is coming our way, guess whose job it's going to be to keep it from killing everybody and everything? Us, and if the mountain lions and bears don't like it, they can lump it.

You go piss on a rope, or better yet, be hung by one.

Ahhh, my first online deathwish!
Jean, chill. It's just the Internet.

#5.8 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 8:08 PM EST

Missourimike

There is no way on this earth that $20,000 acres can be farmed and a profit made. It's profit that pays for it. I remember the last boom and bust in Iowa farmland. Farms were selling for "only" $4000 an acre and still they went bust. What many of the young farmers did was try to emulate what their father's had, after 40yrs of working for it. Young farmers wanted the big house, tractors, fancy equipment and new trucks at the start. My Grandfather farmed in Iowa for 50yrs, made a good deal of money at it. But never even owned a truck the last 20yrs of farming! When he sold cattle or corn, they came and got it. When he bought, they delivered. He only farmed 110 acres!

1 vote

#6 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:04 AM EST

truthhurts402

All true. I wonder if someone is trying to get a monopoly on the fertile farm land and ration food. scarry.

6 votes

#6.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:08 AM EST

That is exactly what is going on, control the food control the people, its socialism on a corporate level, especially when a few corporations control everything, when was the last time you played Monopoly?

1 vote

#6.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:10 PM EST

Jim in Auburn

Article says that many pay cash for new land. So they must be turning a hefty profit on the land they own already. Plus with loans, they do not have to make as much to turn a profit.

#6.3 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:29 PM EST

mikela

I'm betting most of them read about the proposed 1.07$ a gallon subsidy on switchgrass ethanol etc should laws be made as they did with corn and ethanol. Speculators hoping to rape the tax payers and then turn a profit on the land if the switchgrass subsidy laws are put in place. Corn ethanol pays off a .47$ a gallon subsidy and the subsidy is about to run out and not be renewed. They are gambling on switchgrass ethanol etc becoming the new corn subsidy replacement.

1 vote

#6.4 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:38 PM EST

truthhurts402

Being able to raise food is more important than all the gold in the world. If you are hungry try eating a piece of gold next time. Not very good hugh. Try eating some of our printed money not tasty at all. My point is simple. When the food supply is low it is king. We have to eat. Property that gives familys the chance to raise gardens in rural areas where they can also have poultry and beef and pork that is the valuable property. Try feeding yourself with your townhome.

10 votes

#7 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:06 AM EST

mercman2

China is buying up all the farmland to feed its people so they can eventually take us over. Just wait and see!!!!!!

2 votes

#8 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:12 AM EST

farmerdigger

What planet do you live on,China is not buying Iowa farmland

2 votes

#8.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:28 AM EST

OUwhine

China is buying farmland. They said it on Fox, it must be true.

3 votes

#8.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 1:08 PM EST

im chinese
and im rolling on the floor
what does feeding your country have to do with a war?
is the kids there gonan bash us up with corn stalks?
are potatoes going to be fired at us?
...
flat out stupid ass people dont deserve to think

#8.3 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:32 PM EST

Tony-3122279

Make sure to secure your tinfoil hat now and hide in the root cellar. I think I am going out for some dim sum.

#8.4 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:47 PM EST

topkat3

as long as Americans buy it great. hold on to it don't sell it to the Chinese, please.

1 vote

#9 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:13 AM EST

if china does decide to buy it well
THANKS FOR SHOPPING AT WALMART :D
ask the people who helped in this country
if they do feel like invading, blame the people who dug thier own graves

#9.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:34 PM EST

Carolyn's Cookies

we have 40 acres for sale in kansas

1 vote

#10 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:14 AM EST

dano-3878024

Hey Carolyn, does it come with a Mule ???

#10.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 12:32 PM EST

Yagottabejoshin

Wouldja give it to me so "I can turn this rig aroun'... "? It's the easiest way I've found...." <chuckle>

#10.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 12:59 PM EST

Steve F-4009781

Funny how if you "follow the money", in the end of this like so many other things in the U.S., it's all tied to the 'price of oil'. Start there, work your way back, see who benefits from it directly in terms of power, and those on the periphery that happen to to get some scraps from the plan. THAT is as close to 'trickle down economics' as you're going to get. It's about as random and pure as dogs benefiting from hushpuppies. All subsidized in there somewhere by the gov't, propped up by special interests/lobbyists, with legislators increasing the time they have fundraising to stay in office and power brokerage as opposed to time legisating. Bottom line result--The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed one-third is starving. Corn....it's not just for breakfast..or any meal for that matter anymore.

2 votes

#11 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:20 AM EST

Just think some day we will all be able tp share the hunger.

#11.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:18 PM EST

steveob111

better to buy now than pay later

#12 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:21 AM EST

harrykid

it is all being sold to China

#13 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:36 AM EST

Fritz-2712801

Anybody who thinks being a farmer is the way to get rich should try it. I don't know of any other business that requires such a huge amount of capitol investment for such a small return, and is so dependent on the vagaries of weather. The guys making big bucks off farming are the speculators who wouldn't recognize an ear of corn if they were sitting on it.

6 votes

#14 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:38 AM EST

Gary Root

With these high prices many farmers will be glad to sell! I wonder how many years they have gone making little or no money over the past decade.

#14.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:10 PM EST

buckeyenut-2225921

"The guys making big bucks off farming are the speculators who wouldn't recognize an ear of corn if they were sitting on it."
So those poor small farmers here in NW Ohio farming 3000+ acres buying a new combine and tractor every two years for a deduction aren't getting rich? Land here is bringing about 6500 to 8000 per tillable acre depending on exact location. Please don't try to tell me these guys are poor.

1 vote

#14.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 4:23 PM EST

Dissociate

Smith owns a company called Dreamdirt. Standing in the midst of a 9-acre field, Smith estimated the field was worth $45,000.

What! I bought a 41 acre hardwood tree farm for $19,400 and a mile away on the same road I bought 10 acres of farm hardwood for $6900.

#15 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:38 AM EST

Citizen_Kane

Question.
Is this related to higher prices in grocery stores, and is this food bubble replacing the housing bubble?

2 votes

#16 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:40 AM EST

WhereHasAmericaGone

Another reason to get rid of Obama and his failed policies

2 votes

#17 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:43 AM EST

jt in sd

What an idiot. Does everything have to be connected to Obama? The article was about the price of farm land in Iowa. The only slight reference to politics was that the contenders for the Republican nomination cannot really use the economy, at least the economy in Iowa, as a campaign issue. Iowa is doing quite well. Following your reasoning, if you want to call it that, Obama should be getting credit for it.

4 votes

#17.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 12:51 PM EST

please state one obama farm policy
PLEASE
I
BEG
OF
YOU
!!!
no? how dissapointing Q.Q!

#17.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:35 PM EST

the one and only person in IOWA is republicans
democrats dont even try to approach such a lune place...
but ofc, obama mus thave a secret tunnel to IOWA, n colorado etc
hell!, he even has a tunnel to get china!!

#17.3 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:36 PM EST

obama's policy...grow pot...it's what this country is going to...

#17.4 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 5:28 PM EST

Gnelson-1644377

Again with bashing? OK, hang with the GOP and be prepared to wallow in self-serving BULLS**T.

#17.5 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 5:30 PM EST

...just making fun of obama ...plain bob 2012...

#17.6 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 5:45 PM EST

Sane and Sanity

Subject-The price of farmland in Iowa: You Obama-hating guys never, ever, ever stop. No matter how remmote the subject, you find it an obligation to invent something negative and then insert some vitriol to bash the President. Bush ruined our country in so many, many ways and Obama has been desperately trying to reverse all the damage he and his minions did. The GOP scares me BIG TIME! Obviously you don't ever even consider facts, just keep up the blatant, untrue talking points (called lies) of FOX, Corporate "bosses" and your "leaders" in the Corporate-owned Congress. Please, actually do some fact checking. Find out (and accept) the "true" truth before immediately espousing your negative diatribe that has no basis in fact.

#17.7 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 7:57 PM EST

DLange

Why don't you start growing hay instead of corn????

1 vote

#18 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:43 AM EST

hay that was corny...

#18.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 5:42 PM EST

chaslyell

Sounds like a bubble that will burst this year. Once again the small farmer is screwed, that is if they existed in the first place.

#19 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:44 AM EST

Fritz-2712801

FYI: Corn used for ethanol production is not completely used up. The starch portion is turned to alcohol, leaving a protein-rich residue called distillers grain, which is a valuable animal feed. Depending upon who is doing the production, corn oil may also be recovered as a valuable by-product. Also, corn prices go up and go down. Total global supplies depend upon many factors.

1 vote

#20 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:48 AM EST

Grinspoon97

Sugar cane ethanol produces 7 times the energy corn does. Corn feeds people, not cars.

New research from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) shows that corn-based ethanol biofuel is wasteful, inefficient, and a misuse of taxpayer money.
http://www.naturalnews.com/029076_ethanol_fuel.html#ixzz1iKX4l03f

#20.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:21 PM EST

jimirob

It is all about the moonshine... er ethanol subsidies. It is creating a bubble (that will pop as all the speculators dive in & then fail) - and meanwhile food prices have been going through the roof.
Same thing happened with dairy farmers a few years ago when the FDA allowed hormone additives in feed that radically increased milk production... Speculators (who knew little about sustainable farming) dove in, over produced AND the public got wind of it & sales of milk dropped so milk prices collapsed...
Smart farmers will survive... Johnny come latelys will burn (just as they do in every bubble).

1 vote

#21 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:57 AM EST

Pat from Iowa

Iowa grows feed, not food.

#22 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 11:59 AM EST

MLJ-3531866

Then we humans are eating tons of corn "feed". It is in corn syrup, corn starch, maltodextrin, dextrose, fructose, dextrin, etc. This is put into soda pop, breakfast cereals, ice cream, sauces, and most anything with baking powder or corn starch ingredients -- just to name a few. It is even put into some intravenous solutions and oral medications.

#22.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 3:42 PM EST

MW-Joe-3320353

Good luck to the farmers that survived the 1980's, don't let your children forget the hard times. With ethanol turning cellulosic maybe this country will begin to see that oil is a moot point and corn cobs and cellulosic waste will be king. The next generation will need to survive in a highly speculative world of corporate farming and all the evils of the corporate world.

#23 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 12:20 PM EST

MACV1

If you take part in a 401k plan or an IRA you are part of that evil corporate world.

2 votes

#23.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 4:22 PM EST

i feel evil..

#23.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 5:55 PM EST

joel-378449

Farmed for a time. Do not see how anyone could actually farm and make money. How about a $200,000 combine? Tractors for $100,00? Iowa farmland for $20,000 an acre? Speculators are the only people who would be foolish enough to invest and expect to make money.
Borrow the money and become a corporate farm. Then fill your pockets and let the investors eat the farmland. LOL

#24 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 12:24 PM EST

Just out of curiosity from a complete greenhorn, can't you get a lot of that equipment used?

#24.1 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 1:56 PM EST

Armando after about three seasons its used up (combines), you set it aside and cannibalize it, A smart rancher would buy up all the used equipment he could to maintain his fleet but that requires allot of wrenching some don't have the skills. no matter how you look at it there is allot of overhead, some regions have harvesters that come through and harvest your crops, that to is expensive but safer in the long run, farming is risky , a wheat rancher for instance has to have 2 crops in the bank to stay afloat or he is living on the edge, example the crop going to market this year is the crop from two/ three years ago, how many new starters can do that.

#24.2 - Mon Jan 2, 2012 2:48 PM EST