POSTAL CUSTOMER
Volume V, Issue 2
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit #36 OMAHA, NE
February 2011
The dynamics of food production Iowa Land Investment Expo explores factors
by Emma Struve Expert presenters at the Iowa Land Investment Expo looked to the future to predict the weather, to fathom the depths of complicated geopolitical situations influencing international food security, to probe legislators at multiple levels about the future of taxation, even to most efficiently manage capital in competitive markets and for investment. Investors attending the January 21 event at the West Des Moines Sheraton, in turn, looked to the diverse group of individuals plucked from academia, the financial industry, commodity groups, legal consultancy firms and real estate to answer a simple question: how can I make money?
The reality of investing in agricultural land in Iowa is that the profitability of the investment can be influenced by the weather here or in South America, Australia, or Eastern Europe; the ability to transfer the investment to the next generation with equitable inheritance provisions, or to operate within state laws mandating business characteristics for ownership, usage and leasing of ag land; and reasonably responsive commodity markets. Following are just a few of the nearly 20 presentation offered during the 2011 Iowa Land With snow and ice covering Iowa’s farm ground, Investment Expo. winter provides an ideal time for farmers to contemplate factors that impact food production, including weather and land prices. These topics Continued on Page 11 and others were analyzed at the Iowa Land Investment Expo. Photo by Bruce A. Binning
RECORD LAND SALE: Land near Harlan sells for $8,900 an acre Randy Pryor said over his 35 years of selling land, farmers often comment they pay too much for their land, but the opposite is true. Today all those same farms appear to be a great buy. According to ISU Extension, the highest average farmland value in 2010 was in O'Brien County at $7,148 in northwest Iowa (county seat is Primghar), statewide the average is $5,064. Randy Pryor Real Estate and Auction Co. released closing sale information noting 154.4 taxable acres sold at $8,900 per acre for total of $1,374,160; which was $9,100 per crop acres and $141 per CSR point per tillable acre. The sale of the Shelby County land broke Pryor's personal land sale record of $7,300 in Buena Vista County in 2010.
Go on line to www.randypryorrealestate.com for current real estate listings and upcoming auctions.
RANDY PRYOR Real Estate & Auction Co. 428 Walker St., Woodbine, IA 51579 Cell: (712) 644-7160 Office: 647-2741 1-IFR(IFR2011 Pryor Auction)PS
Iowa cattle family brings home national environmental award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15
ISU releases list of SDSresistant varieties for Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 22
The Farmer’s Wife . . . . . . . . . . .Page 5 Futures Market Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 13 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 28-31