How bad is it in your town !

[Double Orange]

Just Venting
Another farmer has informed me this was his last harvest. Bank has cut back on his line of credit. His 600 acre farm is worth more as a future sub division than as a farm?
We are headed in the wrong direction,
I'm very upset about this.
Frank

 

[ultrarunner]

Just Venting
Another farmer has informed me this was his last harvest. Bank has cut back on his line of credit. His 600 acre farm is worth more as a future sub division than as a farm?
We are headed in the wrong direction,
I'm very upset about this.
Frank

Seems to be a trend that won't stop I'm sorry to say...

In my area what was farm land as little as 5 years ago now has block after block of of foreclosed and abandoned homes...

 

[NuBota]

I agree. I don't have a farm, but want one - but will never be able to afford it. I would love to snag one out where (I think, based on previous posts) you are. I live in one of those subdivisions that was once a farm - luckily at least they kept the lots 3- 5 acres. And we're surrounded by farmland, but probably not for much longer....

Was eyeing a couple of ~20 acre horse farms just up the street - 1.2 and 2 million - just no way....

Wait! I could get one of them subprime mortgage deals! Then default and get it back much cheaper! Sounds like a plan!

-Eric

 

[Tororider]

I hate to see things like that happen. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, farms won't be turned into subdivisions any time soon around here. They may be forced out of farming by banks, but there aren't many new houses being built around here and I don't see that changing any time soon.

We got our 18 acres with an30'x80' pole barn on it for a bit over $200k. There was a guy just down the street selling his 18 acres for $500k, no pole barn. His property is still for sale, I called to see what he was asking for it now, still mentioned $500k but said he was now asking best offer because of the economy.

 

[Double Orange]

It's not the money. I can sell my farm for 3+m. I have no morgage.

How much money is this worth?

Twin Baby Moose and Sprinkler - Video

 

[EddieWalker]

The trade magazines that I receive as a contractor are talking about shedding inventory to get through the building slowdown. Holding onto land that was to be developed into residential tracts will cost too much capital to keep, and the big home builders are getting rid of that land at a loss. Another big concern is that with the land that they are dumping to free up capital and stay in business on a smaller scale, years of development planning and permitting are also be abandonded.

If you are in an area where builders are buying large tracts of land to develop, you must really live in one of the better areas of the country!!!!!

There is some talk of land values starting to decline because of the lack of interest in developers buying land, and the surplus of properties available.

It might be a VERY GOOD time to start looking at farm land.

Eddie

 

[Double Orange]

They broken ground 4 miles away on a new Hospital. Also a large medical center is only months away from starting.

 

[Tororider]

Like Eddie said, around here developers are selling off land around here left and right. Now is a great time to buy, if you have the money yourself.

 

[Bird]

They broken ground 4 miles away on a new Hospital. Also a large medical center is only months away from starting.

That sounds like my area. The fantastic amounts of huge, fancy medical facilities, offices, and hospitals under construction is just literally mind boggling.

 

[zionview]

The farm next to ours was sold for development 3 or 4 years ago. So far, they have only built 3 houses, and one of them is for the seller. After 2 stale years, they are finally starting house #4. That's out of 90 or 100 acres. I'd hate to be paying interest on that whole tract at the rate they are developing it. I know a young fellow who works for the outfit doing the building, so I know they have a few other tracts they are working on. That's quite an outlay considering the economy.

 

[meadowlarkponds]

It may be painful to get there....but some day this will turn around. Farms will be more valuable for what food (and possibly energy) they can produce than the land is worth as housing. It will turn around, but it probably will be many years and perhaps even generations.

Meanwhile, I plan to enjoy my place as much as possible and thankful for every day I can spend on it.

 

[charlz]

I've noticed here that some of the farm land that developer/speculators bought is now up for sale again. On the other hand I still see them punching roads for developments into nice farm land. I really wonder how they still have the capital to take such a risk.... if they had loans based on what the houses would or could sell for I would think the banks would have yanked those.

 

[Double Orange]

Money is a fools game.
Seek it if you wish

 

[marimus]

It may be painful to get there....but some day this will turn around. Farms will be more valuable for what food (and possibly energy) they can produce than the land is worth as housing. It will turn around, but it probably will be many years and perhaps even generations.

Meanwhile, I plan to enjoy my place as much as possible and thankful for every day I can spend on it.

Down my way, our state government is letting mining companies turn some of the best cropping land in the world, into second rate grazing land.

Coal revenues are worth more to them then food.

 

[dmccarty]

Progressive Farmer magazine has been talking about farm land almost doubling in price in prime farm areas.

But not to grow houses. But to grow crops. Farm land is in great demand for farms in the Midwest. Some farmers and investors are taking out loans to buy up high priced farm land. The land has gone up in value because of commodity prices. Once those prices fall, and they have started to fall, there will be a price to pay as yet another bubble pops.

Cities taking up prime farm land is nothing new. Its been going on for hundreds and thousands of years. The Roosevelt family fortune was partially made by buying up farm land outside the NYC limits. And then selling at higher prices as the city expanded.

Later,
Dan

 

[mjarrels]

We too have a new hospital being built about three miles away on a two lane road. State was suposed to build a new four lane road to service the new hospital... isn't going to happen now due to lack of funds. Traffic is a horrible problem and people will die in traffic jams trying to get to the new hospital when JMU has a football game!

mark

 

[DANOCHEESE]

A pasture here with a couple of old but usable buldings went for 2250 ana cre. You can't drive a tractor on this gorund. Good corn ground $5500 an acre average. Price of corn has dropped and the land is still selling high. Pasture land is at a premium. Guys like me are lookign a taking land out of CRP for pasture. IT will cost me $3000 for a 12 ace pasture. The girls need somewhere to keep the hay burners. ANd I lose a good pheasant hunting spot. DArn kids win again.

 

[charlz]

A pasture here with a couple of old but usable buldings went for 2250 ana cre. You can't drive a tractor on this gorund. Good corn ground $5500 an acre average. Price of corn has dropped and the land is still selling high. Pasture land is at a premium. Guys like me are lookign a taking land out of CRP for pasture. IT will cost me $3000 for a 12 ace pasture. The girls need somewhere to keep the hay burners. ANd I lose a good pheasant hunting spot. DArn kids win again.

Must be nice to have such cheap land. During the building peak close in farmland here was selling $50,000 to $70,000 an acre.

 

[bjw444]

i bought 160 acres a little over two years ago 45mins from the city of pittsburgh, its still in allegheny county(same as city) and i paid 1300 an acre. its about 60-70 acres open and the rest in woods. i own the mineral and gas rights. Theres alot of property thats expensive but alot thats still rural enough

 

[tony123]

I can't believe not a single comment on the moose video... That was fantastic! I can't think of a better way to make your point.

I don't have a farm, or even much acreage, but the older I get the more I fall into the philosophy of "money is a fools game". Think of the changes in the world if more of us lived by that montra.

The guy next door to us has about 20 acres of horse pasture. Our prettiest mountain view is out across his property. When we first met him, I made a joke about how we will enjoy borrowing the view. He responded by saying that it wasn't his....he was "borrowing" it as well and hoped that we all got to enjoy it for a long time.