Resources

Financing – In this day and age, financing can be difficult to say the least, especially when it comes to financing acreage; however for most purchases it is usually an important necessity. Below is a list of our preferred lenders that may help us get the job done. Depending on your needs and what type of property you are buying, may determine the best lender for you. Typically with homes on substantial acreage or vacant land, lenders may require a minimum of 25% Down Payment.

Government Services – County Auditor, Recorder, Engineer, Health Department, Building and Zoning, Water and Sewer, are just a few of the contacts you may need to gather info from to help in your real estate transaction. Below are a list of links for counties in the area that may help point you in the right direction.

County Auditor – The auditor site for each and every county in the State may be one of the most helpful tools a buyer or seller can have in researching properties. Using it you can find all of info on a given property. Most counties also have a map system allowing you to pull up maps for properties of interest.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) The farm service agency provides contact information, as well as a listing of the programs and offices that make up the Farm Service Agency. Every county has an FSA branch that helps local farmers in a number of ways.

Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) is a differential real estate tax assessment program. It allows owners of land the opportunity to have their parcels taxed according to their agricultural or timber value, rather than full market value. To qualify for the use value assessment, a landowner must devote the parcel to agriculture. By definition, this means parcels of land totaling not less than 10 acres that were devoted to agricultural or tree production.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a cost-share and rental payment program under the USDA that pays landowners to set aside farmland in certain areas. With the intent to reduce soil erosion, enhance water supplies, improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat, and reduce damages caused by floods and other natural disasters. The CRP encourages landowners to convert or keep highly erodible acreage or other environmentally sensitive land in vegetative cover. Cover such as cultivated or native grasslands, wildlife food and shelter plantings, windbreaks, grassed waterways, filter strips and riparian buffers.

Contractors and Services – Builders, Plumbers, Electricians, Excavators, Septic Installers, Surveyors, Fence builders, Foresters, Loggers, Inspectors, Appraisers, Architects. Having the right man for the job is always a plus. Depending on your project and your area, we may have the right contact for you. Please contact us if you would like a recommendation.

Land Use and Management

Cropland

Tillable land is in demand! With the prices of corn and beans hitting all time highs in recent years, the demand for cropland has continued to increase. When you consider the income potential, tax advantages and appreciation, buying cropland could be one of the best investments a person can make. While some other types of real estate have lost value in recentyears, the value of tillable ground has continued to increase. Quality tillable acreage can be relatively easy to rent to a farmer. Cash rents typically range from about $50/acre/year to over $250/ac/year depending on a number of factors. Factors to consider are the total amount of rentable acreage, size of fields, access to fields, proximity to farmers, quality of the soil and the yield of the field. There are a number of options for renting cropland. The most popular and often the easiest is Cash Renting; however for people who want to stay more involved with their farming operation, there are a number ways to share crop and cost/profit share your cropland.

Timber and Forest Management

Forest management can be described as providing a forest the proper care it needs so that the forest remains healthy and produces the products and desires of the landowner. It is not so much a science as it is a process that requires the development and execution of a plan with certain objectives in mind. The development of a forest management plan should be carefully considered and consultation with a forester is crucial to ensure the landowner achieves these desired goals.

The first step in developing a plan is to identify landowner objectives. Some landowner objectives include; source of Income, wildlife habitat, aesthetics, preservation, species diversity, tax shelter, inheritance, soil stabilization and self enjoyment. It is important that these goals be defined in the beginning because they determine how resources should be inventoried and the overall plan laid out. This plan should not be set in stone but rather an evolving plan that should be reviewed.

Once ownership objectives have been identified, resources can be inventoried. The forest resources will be calculated on characteristics such as tree species, age, condition, quantity, volume, size and value. Depending on the goals of the owner, other items may also be considered such as boundaries, wildlife, wildlife habitat, streams, trails, roads. Inventory is thennanalyzed to determine what is present and what the forest property is capable of producing.