JFC!!!

[la_samtyr]

This land is right next door to me; and I do mean that literally! Like, less than five miles from where I live in town!

http://www.nebraska.tv/story/16689112/farm-auctions-make-instant-millionaires

Farm Auctions Make Instant Millionaires
Posted: Feb 06, 2012 5:32 PM CST Updated: Feb 06, 2012 7:33 PM CST


By Steve White swhite@nebraska.tv

Forget the lottery, instant millionaires are made in Nebraska's fertile soil.

While the nation recovers from the collapse of the housing market, farm land is about as sure a bet as there is.

An auctioneer's voice is the sound of prosperity in Nebraska, as farm land soars past $10,000 an acre.

"It's been a good upwards market for sellers," auctioneer Randy Ruhter said.

It's a great time to sell, but it's not easy for a beginning farmer like John Williamson. He attended this auction in Hastings with his step dad.

John said, "I'm trying to get started with the help of my dad here,"

"My stepson is located right beside the farm. Come into the farm operation and we had hopes
he could have the farm beside him," Richard Heftie explained.

This auction progressed quickly. The number of potential buyers narrowed to two, as bidding climbed higher and higher. John and Richard never had a chance.

John said, "It takes a lot of capital to get in and that's what kept us out of this I guess."

Randy Ruhter stopped the auction not once but twice, giving bidders a chance to work the phones.

An acre of irrigated land went for less than a thousand dollars when Ruhter got in the business. Now it trades for ten times that.

"Land is just a good investment," Ruhter explained. "It was residual income, unlike something you might buy, stocks and bonds. While you're holding the property and possibly getting an upturn in value, you're also getting annual income off it as well, so it's very desirable, ag real estate right now seems to be the choice."

The statistics back up that assertion. University of Nebraska economists say 2011 brought record incomes on the farm.

The latest study of agricultural real estate by the University of Nebraska shows farm land jumped 22% from 2010 to 2011. Not only is that an all-time high, it's still the record once inflation is factored in.

University research shows central and south central Nebraska farms rose in value by 25% in a single year.

In south central Nebraska, land prices rose 103% in five years. Statewide, land with center pivot irrigation showed the greatest gains.

Randy Ruhter expects a market correction, but doesn't think it's necessarily a bubble that will burst. And as long as it lasts, corn belt states like Nebraska enjoy good times.

Ruhter said, "As agriculture goes, so goes central Nebraska's economy. It's all based on what farmers make and farmers, historically, if they're making money, they're spending money."

Ruhter was auctioning 160 acres of gravity irrigated crop land near Harvard in Clay County. The final price came to $12,000 an acre.

John Williamson calculated the prices on his phone, which ended up at $1.9 million.

The landowner became an instant millionaire, while most farmers like Williamson were outbid
before they started.

"It passed us faster than we thought," he said with a laugh.

Based on high crop prices, farm income is at an all time high in Nebraska. But there's a downside for the men and women feeding the world.

Williamson, the young farmer said, "It might be tough to own for a while. Might have to rent until things change."

His step dad Richard Heftie said, "It's unbelievable and the next thin is what will taxes do?"

NTV will examine the issue of property taxes Tuesday as our week-long special report continues.

Comments

[dazedpuckbunny.livejournal.com]

That's insane man!1

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

It really is!

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I remember the last agriculture bubble. That's when corporate farms got their big expansion and 1000's of small family farms disappeared. The concern is not only what the land is selling for but the fact that they will be taxed accordingly and many small farmers won't be able to afford the increasingly high property taxes for their land. It's really a shame.

- Erulisse (one L)

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hated to see all of those small farms disappear too. Now it's so much *more* complicated. Even dryland/pasture is selling for over $6k/acre, iirc.

[alexcat.livejournal.com]

Wish land would sell for that here! I've got a farm I need to sell sometime. As it is, it barely makes enough money to pay the property taxes.

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

Really? That's odd. I thought any land was super-high. Land here is so expensive -- even more when you get into ranch country further west.

My cousin Donna lived in the Triad; she always said that houses and land were so expensive there. (Well, the whole state tbh.)

[chaotic-binky.livejournal.com]

Land is only worth what someone will pay for it; however, the value of your house will go up, which is only good news if you are looking to sell.

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

It's farmland, which is in very high demand around here. My house, though, is older and little and "not cool". I doubt if I would get anything at all for it. At least it was paid for a long time ago -- and the taxes are cheap.