Worming lambs and moms

[elevan]

We have folks here from many different backgrounds and many different countries around the world.

 

[Southdown]

A variety of people means I can learn more from other people's experiences.

 

[feed grass]

Farmland does not have to cost $10,000+ an acre but you have to be prepared to move to maybe get what you want. Land down here is $1,000 an acre. more for cropland.

Did not know we had someone from a 3rd world country on here... Show me 1k land- I'm interested to see it.

If you have to move across the world- what enjoyment would you have from 'owning your own FARM'? which btw: What is a farm- 1 acre, 10? 20 plus???

Actually there is land that can go for less than $10 k/acre up here, especially further north than where I live, and Canada ain't a third world country. Right Royd?

You mentioned about inheriting land, FG, so apparently you don't have capital gains to worry about when it comes down to inheriting land. Up here if there's someone who's "within arm's reach" and wants to inherit or buy farmland off a father or mother or some close relative, the government wants a piece of that, and the person buying has to pay capital gains in addition to purchasing the farmland. Then when selling land to someone who is not "within arm's reach" it's the seller that's gotta take a big chunk out of his/her wallet due to capital gains when selling land to a non-relative. I don't know the exact details of how it all goes and what the floor price is that a person can only sell or buy at, nor do I have enough time this morning to do so, but that's the way things work up here in Canada. I doubt, from the sounds of it, that the US gov't uses capital gains on taxpayers that have to or want to buy or sell land.

ya-- we have that...

To those with cheap land prices?

If you land is cheap-- then what's it's productivity? Can one acre support one cow's feed for the entire year? I know those places in Canada especially-- 10 acres can't support one cow for a year.

So, if you have to have 10x as much land to do the same thing as ground that's worth 10x more--- who's ahead?

 

[Royd Wood]

The size isn't the issue, it's what you do with it that counts.

Liz

Now I seem to remember hearing this in a past life

Its great on my little plot - been mowing hay today, moved cattle yesterday erm chicken poop - that can wait till another day lol

 

[Royd Wood]

Actually there is land that can go for less than $10 k/acre up here, especially further north than where I live, and Canada ain't a third world country. Right Royd?

Yep but can be like Siberia

 

[Cornish Heritage]

chicken poop - that can wait till another day lol

We have SO much chicken poop to move onto our garden this Fall it isn't even funny! BUT I think the garden will do much much better next year with some of that rich fertilizer on it.

Liz

 

[WildRoseBeef]

Farmland does not have to cost $10,000+ an acre but you have to be prepared to move to maybe get what you want. Land down here is $1,000 an acre. more for cropland.

Did not know we had someone from a 3rd world country on here... Show me 1k land- I'm interested to see it.

If you have to move across the world- what enjoyment would you have from 'owning your own FARM'? which btw: What is a farm- 1 acre, 10? 20 plus???

Actually there is land that can go for less than $10 k/acre up here, especially further north than where I live, and Canada ain't a third world country. Right Royd?

You mentioned about inheriting land, FG, so apparently you don't have capital gains to worry about when it comes down to inheriting land. Up here if there's someone who's "within arm's reach" and wants to inherit or buy farmland off a father or mother or some close relative, the government wants a piece of that, and the person buying has to pay capital gains in addition to purchasing the farmland. Then when selling land to someone who is not "within arm's reach" it's the seller that's gotta take a big chunk out of his/her wallet due to capital gains when selling land to a non-relative. I don't know the exact details of how it all goes and what the floor price is that a person can only sell or buy at, nor do I have enough time this morning to do so, but that's the way things work up here in Canada. I doubt, from the sounds of it, that the US gov't uses capital gains on taxpayers that have to or want to buy or sell land.

ya-- we have that...

To those with cheap land prices?

If you land is cheap-- then what's it's productivity? Can one acre support one cow's feed for the entire year? I know those places in Canada especially-- 10 acres can't support one cow for a year.

So, if you have to have 10x as much land to do the same thing as ground that's worth 10x more--- who's ahead?

Valid point, but I know there's a heck of a lot more to it than that. Land that appears to be far less productive than the land surrounding it will, no doubt, go for less than other land that looks to be more productive or looks to have more value. You know that looks and aesthetics are everything when trying to sell something. A person can buy 10+ acres land that looks like it won't support a cow-calf pair for a year, and turn it into land that does. That's the difference. And of course I know perfectly well too that there's the flip side of the coin, where you can get land that looks like it's really good land, but then when you start working with it it ain't worth a crap.

And then you get what you mentioned in the scenario: " if you have to have 10x as much land to do the same thing as ground that's worth 10x more--- who's ahead?" We all know it's the latter---the guy that's got land worth 10 times more. But that doesn't mean that land that's worth ten times more (or have 10 acres able to support 1 cow-calf pair for 1 year versus land that requires 100 acres to support a cow-calf pair for a year) is going to be more expensive!! Ranch land near the Rockies here in Alberta has land prices that are WAY more expensive than land up here where I live and northwards. Also, Up here, the land is far more productive than the kind of land that's down near the Rockies. We are able to grow good-quality crops and have land supports dairy farming up here, whereas down south you simply cannot raise dairy cattle on the kind of rocky, sandy land that's available....only beef cattle can be put on there. And which is more expensive? The ranch land. So go figure.


That's why I believe that it's not all down to productivity of the land that is the judgement of what price a piece of land should or does go for. The other reason for low prices could be and is due to relative location to urban areas or areas that have a "nice view." Take my example of land near the Rockies with the great view of the mountains, and compare that to the gently rolling landscape boreal-transition zone of around Barrhead-Westlock-Athabasca eastwards to Lloydminster that has no "nice views" like folks down in Southern Alberta near Calgary have.

However, you go east to Saskatchewan and land prices decrease significantly. There's still the same sort of rocky, sandy soil that's available in southern Alberta as there is in southern Saskatchewan, but you don't get the nice views of the rockies in Saskabush as you do in the Sunshine Province. And of course there, you might find that land that's more productive or that supports wheat/canola/barley farming will go for a wee bit higher than the land that only supports livestock grazing.

Then of course you get supply/demand: the more demand there is for land, the higher the prices go. Not much demand for land in Saskabush, plenty of demand for land near the Rockies.

 

[redtailgal]

I am sure that to the person that owns that land, be it 1k an acre or 10k an acre........it's valuable to them. Different people have different goals and different land needs. Land here is expensive.........not because its such prime pasture or farm land, but ONLY because people here are willing to pay ridiculous prices, to live in "the fresh country air". There is high demand for this land, not for farming but for putting up a house with a little white picket fence.

Land in other places may not be in such high demand, and the prices will reflect that. Productivity ability of the land really has little to do with the price, it's about supply and demand.

Either way, if we were to sell our land, we could ask and get a pretty penny for it. My friend in Kansas paid very little for her land, and would not get much for it if she decided to sell it, simply because its not a populated area. Her cattle do wonderful on the land, crops grow nicely, there is plenty of natural water, even a natural gas vein running thru it. But, its far from a major city, way out in the sticks and no one really wants to build a house there......... And, once acre supports a cow and calf pair quite nicely.

But to her, HER dirt is just as valuable as mine. It's HERS, she bought it and its her blood sweat and tears that went into it just as mine went into my land.

Feed grass asked "whose ahead?" The person who has the land that makes the lifestyle they want is ahead, be it 1 acre or 1000 acres.....the monetary value of the land really is a moot point.

Money does not always equal quality. Those that have land that has a lesser monetary value, do not necessarily have poor or lesser land.

It bothers me to hear people say things like "my stuff is better than your stuff because it cost more money". Not only is it derogatory to the other person, its the same as speaking with a puffed up chest and it shows a lack of understanding on what supply and demand does to the prices of commodities.

People tend to get wrapped up in numbers and statistics to the point that they lose sight of reality, and all to often, they develop a false sense of security when they are on the positive side of those numbers and statistics, making them appear to feel as though they were better than the average Joe.

 

[bonbean01]

Totally agree Red!! Our little piece of heaven here is priceless to us. Wouldn't be to most other people, but to us it is perfect. Good post putting it all into perspective

 

[feed grass]

for those of you wanting to know how 'productive' your land is-- go to websoilsurvey.com... this is a public access portion of our agency that we promote on a daily basis.. it's a great tool for those of you wanting to know more about your property-- click around on the soils info tabs across the top, and onward-- FYI- for those of you who've never been on here before-- you can spend literally a day on here clicking around.

the soil type, is extremely important.. it will be a good guideline to what the property is really worth, and it will determine how productive your land really can be.

if anyone has any questions on how to interpret something, i can do my best to answer them in a PM or email- it is-- my job...