# Don't it just figure



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Have a farm we picked up years ago when the original owner had a stroke, his wife called us as this happened about mid March. Started out as a temporary agreement as it wasn't serious at first and they thought he had a good chance at recovery, unfortunately a few more strokes followed the first and he passed, been farming it ever since.

172 acres tillable, 200 acres total. Large machinery barn we've been leasing to store equipment as well as two 5000 bushel bins. If not for the lane running north/south to the woods it could be farmed as one field. Grows a good crop but irrigation would work miracles in a drier year. Irrigation would have made at least a 100 b/a difference in 2012 for the corn and 20 or 30 for beans.

Always been told when she was ready to sell we get first chance to buy. Well with corn heading to below $3 bushel and beans heading to or under $11/bushel she told Dad to make an offer.

Suppose it could be worse, could have said the same when it was $8 corn and $15 plus beans.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Good Luck.

Regards, Mike


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## Fossil02818 (May 31, 2010)

Well they kept their word and gave you first shot at the deal. You know the land and most of the strengths and weaknesses of the farm. Does it "fit" with your long term plans? If so, owning is more secure than renting. Sounds like you should be able to determine a fair price for both sides if you really want to own it.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Does she need the money? Some times people will sell at a good price, less than market value just because they like you and the way you have conducted yourself with them.

Hope it works out.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Fossil02818 said:


> Well they kept their word and gave you first shot at the deal. You know the land and most of the strengths and weaknesses of the farm. Does it "fit" with your long term plans? If so, owning is more secure than renting. Sounds like you should be able to determine a fair price for both sides if you really want to own it.


We already informed her that it would have to be a really "fair" price as we'd have to be able to afford adding the irrigation the first year we owned it. She understood completely as it's something her husband always wanted to do when he still farmed it.



Tim/South said:


> Does she need the money? Some times people will sell at a good price, less than market value just because they like you and the way you have conducted yourself with them.
> 
> Hope it works out.


She doesn't really need the money, she just wants to be able to travel a little more during the winter and doesn't want to have to worry about her house sitting empty during the sub arctic northern indiana winters. We've gotten along quite well for years, have keys to all the buildings and what not. I keep her lane mowed so she can take her walks everyday, also keep the roadsides mowed since the county does less than a stellar job at it. Have fixed her electric in the past when it dropped the neutral as well as taking care of groundhog problems in her out buildings. Also keep her drive plowed when she's around during the winters.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

One big plus we just figured out, can irrigate 142 out of the 172 without needing a corner arm, adding a 200' corner arm on the big pivot only gains 12 acres. Will take three pivots though, a 1300+ foot unit and a 750' and a 500'. Size the well right and the smaller two should be able to run at the same time. Although seed corn contracts have been cut back a lot in the area, we still have a mint guy and a green bean guy that pays obscene amounts of money for irrigated sand. May end up not even getting to farm all of it for awhile until somebody else pays for it.

With what some of the rents for good irrigated ground around here are at now, if possible you might as well own it if you intend on farming it for any real amount of time. $350-$500/acre is not unheard of. Some of our longer term farms Dad has farmed continuously for four decades now. Another plus is this land is in the county south of us, roughly half the property taxes that we pay in our county. The farm could then use that address and our truck plates would cost less than half where we are now.

Got to talking about it the other night, Dad planted his first corn crop by himself at the tender age of 12 as Grandfather was working two jobs at the time. Dad turned 67 this year, so he's planted fifty five corn crops.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Fossil02818 said:


> Well they kept their word and gave you first shot at the deal. You know the land and most of the strengths and weaknesses of the farm. Does it "fit" with your long term plans? If so, owning is more secure than renting. Sounds like you should be able to determine a fair price for both sides if you really want to own it.


Yah, the experts claim though you can only afford land if your not already farming it. Like to hear what they say when it could be bought by another BTO in the area or for development and then you never get a chance to farm it again.


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## Fossil02818 (May 31, 2010)

Often times folks will accept less than top dollar if they believe the land will be kept in good hands. I'm not saying they don't want a fair price, just that there is more to selling productive land than money. We've bought a couple parcels direct from the owners before the properties were ever listed for sale. They knew our reputation for not cutting corners and appreciated that we would keep up the buildings and fences and all the work they had put into the farm over their lifetimes. You have shown that you are a good steward of the land. Knowing the land would be improved with the irrigation they had wanted to do themselves is a nice consolation for them as well. It definitely sounds like a deal is there if you want it.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Got to doing a little math in my head while tedding hay this morning, would have to be able to rent a similar piece of ground all in one piece with irrigation already on it for $260/acre or less before it wouldn't be cheaper to own it. Lots of guys around here subleasing their ground to the seed corn, green beans, popcorn or mint guys starting at $350/acre rent.

Starts to look a lot more feasible when considering some of the other good ground we rent with no irrigation is approaching $200/acre.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

One advantage you have for doing your math is you know what it will grow. When I bought land last fall it was an educated guess on what the land would produce. Than we get an dry year this year. Will like I told dad now I know what it will do on a bad year. Should only get better from here


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Not sure about this yet, first quote came in for the irrigation, over a $200K just for the pivots. That doesn't include the well, pipe to each pivot or electric. Probably closer to $300K or more when all of it's figured in.

Had a land auction east of us a few weeks ago, heavier ground that could still stand miles worth of tile installed, $8700/acre.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Ouch. We are at about 800-1200$ per acre for farmland still. Doesn't produce like the black stuff out there of course and its hard to find in big blocks.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Looks real scary when you punch the numbers into a mortgage calculator, anywhere from $5-7K a month payments.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

So if you get over 40 inches of rain a year why would you need irrigation? I have never been in your area but that just boggles my mind. Anywhere where I see irrigation is where is pretty much bone dry and will get next to nothing with out it.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Yep, doesn't mean you get any of that forty when you really need it. This is lighter ground as well, not much water holding capacity. Already this year had a few times that adding an inch or two of water would definitely be noticeable at harvest.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

mlappin said:


> Looks real scary when you punch the numbers into a mortgage calculator, anywhere from $5-7K a month payments.


You just need to break it down farther $200 a day doesn't sound as bad as $6000 per month.lol.

They were trying to pass a school bond issue and broke it all the way down to so much per acre per month.Just ticked off the farmers that much more and they showed up in force to get it voted down.City people didn't get it though,but it's only so much a acre per month.


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