Blogs

Easements: Issues and Appraiser Liability

By ASFMRA Press posted 17 days ago
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By Claudia Gaglione, Esq., National Claims Counsel for LIA Administrators & Insurance Services – A Preferred Partner of the ASFMRA In the past year we have encountered several claims against appraisers involving easements, regardless of whether the easement is recorded or not. Unfortunately, as an appraiser, you can be sued for any type of issue at any time. While we cannot prevent lawsuits, we strive to learn from these claims. By examining reports, we identify language that has been beneficial to appraisers and their legal counsel. Our goal is to share suggestions that might help appraisers resolve claims or lawsuits more swiftly. ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - July 2, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 24 days ago
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Iowa Utilities Board Approves Permit for Controversial Summit Pipeline The Iowa Utilities Board gave its approval Tuesday for the controversial Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline and for the company to use eminent domain to acquire landowners’ property. The company hopes to begin construction next year with the goal of making the pipeline operational in 2026. The pipeline, which would be the largest of its kind anywhere in the world, would carry liquified carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Iowa and surrounding states to a site in North Dakota, where the company hopes for reconsideration and approval of a previously denied permit. The pipeline would ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - June 18, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 06-18-2024
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‘Precision Ag’ Promised a Farming Revolution. It’s Coming, Just Slowly. For 20 years, Pablo Sobron sought a better way to learn exactly what was in the soil, rock or any other substance on Mars. Instead of sampling and laboratory analysis — the old way of soil testing — scientists began to use lasers and sensors to get high precision data quickly. Eventually, that led Sobron to think the same type of technology could work on Earth, particularly farms. “The idea is to do exactly what we do on Mars, which is drive and, without stopping, get real time measurements of every square inch if you want to. As small as you want,” he said. Read the Full Story ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - June 4, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 06-04-2024
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China Isn’t Hogging up as Much U.S. Farmland as It May Seem Despite concerns that China is buying or leasing all the farmland in the United States, new Cornell-led research shows that this is not the case. Using a federal dataset of more than 40,000 foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land as of 2020, Wendong Zhang, assistant professor and extension economist at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and collaborators show that countries classified by the federal government as “adversary,” such as China, held only 1 percent of the roughly 40 million acres of foreign-owned farmland. The top foreign country in terms of ownership ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - May 21, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 05-21-2024
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Where Are the Best Places to Farm in the U.S.? What makes a great place to farm? Good land — and lots of it — may be your answer if you think bigger is better and sales bring success. When ag income set a record in 2022, the secrets of size held true. But in some parts of the country, prices meant profits — except where turbulent weather spelled the difference between stunning profits and staggering losses. That’s just one of the findings from the latest installment of Farm Futures’ two-decade study, Best Places to Farm. Based on USDA Census of Agriculture data published every five years, this project tracks profitability in 3,056 counties across the ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - May 7, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 05-07-2024
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Monastery Ranch Lists for $150 Million One of the largest tracts of largely undeveloped land in Pitkin County, Colo., recently hit the market for $150 million. St. Benedict’s Monastery is for sale, nearly a year after the monks announced its impending closure. “We’re really looking for a conservation buyer, or buyers, that understands the nuances and the pristine nature of (the property),” said the listing agent Ken Mirr of Mirr Ranch Group. “We don’t see this as another resort or a large-scale, high-density development; we see quite the opposite.” The monks first bought the land in 1956. Since then, the approximate 3,700 acres and 18,000 square feet ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - April 23, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 04-23-2024
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By How Much Can Appraised Farm Values Differ Across Appraisers? By Alejandro Plastina, Wendong Zhang, and Wendiam Sawadago We compared 54 appraisal reports, completed by nine Certified General Appraisers (CGAs) for three Iowa farms at two points in time (2019 and 2020), to evaluate the variability of appraised values and its causes. Our findings confirm that, despite the norms and regulations that CGAs abide by, the appraisal process is subjective in nature, and appraised values can differ by as much as 20% of their average appraised values. Furthermore, observed discrepancies in basic facts considered by CGAs to form their expert opinions on the value ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - April 9, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 04-09-2024
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Farm & Ranch Tax Provisions Set to Expire Provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire in 2025 and could result in farmers, ranchers and business owners potentially paying more of their inheritance to the federal government. The comprehensive tax cut package was enacted in 2017, and it lowered taxes for most individuals and businesses, including farms and ranches. “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is extremely important for farmers, ranchers and small businesses,” Laramie Adams, Texas Farm Bureau associate director of Government Affairs, said. “The tax deductions and estate tax exemption provide much-needed relief to many farmers and ranchers. ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - March 26, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-25-2024
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Big Short Investor is on a Rural Real Estate Buying Spree When investors like Kyle Bass talk, investors listen. Bass, whose story was immortalized in Michael Lewis's book "The Big Short," first predicted then profited from the 2008 financial crash. With that in mind, real estate investors everywhere should pay attention to his most current advice, which is to follow migration trends and buy real estate in those areas. Bass is buying large tracts of rural land in Texas, Florida and Tennessee. Read the Full Story US Agriculture Industry Gears Up for 'Drone-Swarm' Farming A new exemption for drone piloting from the Federal Aviation Administration ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - March 12, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 03-12-2024
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Signs of Weakening Farmland Values Several indicators point to weakening farmland values. Jim Rothermich, ARA, with Iowa Appraisal tells Brownfield he tracks every land auction in the state and says there were at least nine no-sales in February. “That is a drastic increase. A year ago, February 2023, we had two. So that’s how big a difference there is right now.” A no-sale occurs when the property isn’t sold because a reserve price has not been met. Read the Full Story Common Offer to Lease Farmland for Solar Panels: $1,000 an Acre More than half of large U.S. farmers say they have been offered at least $1,000 an acre during discussions ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - February 27, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 02-27-2024
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Farm Family Selling Land and Operations for $2 Billion Fresno’s Assemi family, one of the region’s largest in the ag business, is looking to divest from its farming operations, seeking a buyer for tens of thousands of acres of farmland, as well as Touchstone Pistachio Company, a major nut processor it owns. The move comes as Farid Assemi – who has headed up the family’s farming operations – has faced declining health over the past few years and an intense intra-family legal battle over control of the family’s farming enterprise. Sources with knowledge said the value of the combined entities and their assets sits at roughly $2 billion. Read the Full ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - February 13, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 02-13-2024
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How Interest Rates Could Impact Farmland Values in 2024 Lately, the news has been full of talk about interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s recent decision to hold interest rates steady at 5.25% to 5.5% comes as a beacon of stability. It signals that perhaps we are approaching the corner on inflation. But now that we’re sitting on high interest rates, what does that mean for the farmland market? Since the onset of rate hikes in March 2022, we’ve seen the landscape of borrowing and investing undergo significant shifts, with the Fed’s actions rippling across various sectors, including agriculture. According to Ty Kreitman of the Federal Reserve Bank of ...
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Member Spotlight: Alicia Jupka, ARA

By ASFMRA Press posted 01-30-2024
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Alicia Jupka, ARA, of the Montana Chapter is the focus for this edition of the Member Spotlight series. Alicia, who currently works for the USDA Forest Service, joined the Society in 2022 and quickly worked her way through the Accredited Rural Appraiser (ARA) designation requirements, passing her accreditation exam at the 2023 Annual Conference — just in time to walk the stage with her newly accredited peers! How did you get started with your career in appraisal? I began my appraisal career with the Department of Interior, Appraisal and Valuation Services Office (AVSO) Apprentice Program in 2016. My background is in geology, but my father, who spent his ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - January 30, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 01-30-2024
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Top 20 Landowners in America, According to a New Report Endless miles of vast land stretch as far as the eye can see, but only a few families own much of it. Almost half of all American farmland is owned by people who don't actually farm themselves. Many of these wealthy families make their fortunes in the lumber and forest industry, with millions of acres in timberland throughout the Pacific Northwest. The largest landowners run cattle operations and farms throughout the Great Plains and the West. Some ranches include land leased from the state or government for cattle grazing, while others offer oil and gas revenue. Traditionally, family members hold ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - January 16, 2024

By ASFMRA Press posted 01-16-2024
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Zuckerberg Gets Into the Cattle Game on Hawaii Ranch In 2019, Facebook banned livestock sales between private individuals. It also began tightening down the hatches, so to speak, banning animal parts, pelts, and skin sales, including furs. That same year, PETA bought shares in Facebook hoping to have more of a say in the filtering process on Facebook. But now, Facebook’s co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he’s entering the farming and ranching industry. He made the announcement on the social media platform this week that he has begun raising cattle at his Ko’olau Ranch on Kauai. The ranch has been called a “top-secret compound” by some. ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - December 19, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-19-2023
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Foreign-Owned U.S. Farmland Acres Rose More Than 8% in 2022 The number of U.S. farm acres owned by foreign entities grew more than 8% in 2022, though the 43.4 million acres of foreign-owned forest and farm land is just 3.4% of the country's agricultural land, said a government report on Friday. The issue of who owns American farmland, and whether foreign ownership of farmland presents a national security risk, has been hotly discussed in Washington, and some members of Congress have proposed limits on foreign farmland ownership. Foreign entities bought 3.4 million acres of U.S. farmland in 2022, with the biggest increases in Colorado, Alabama and Michigan, ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - December 5, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 12-05-2023
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AI Brings Transparency to Farmland Values Sometimes the answer to a question is right in front of you, but you can’t see it. Like where is the box of tissues in the storage closet? My husband insists we are out of tissues. I insist there is a box in there, he just needs to keep looking. We bicker about it some more, shouting from opposite sides of the house, until I finally join him at the closet and find it myself…in seconds. Artificial intelligence (AI) is on its way to helping humans efficiently sort through the “storage closet” of farmland data to answer complex questions, such as how much a field is worth and who is likely to buy it. Yet, some say ...
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Don’t Make the Same Mistake Twice

By ASFMRA Press posted 11-28-2023
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By Claudia Gaglione, Esq., Gaglione, Dolan & Kaplan National Claims Counsel for LIA Administrators & Insurance Services In the world of real estate appraisals, a cardinal rule should always be "Don't Make the Same Mistake Twice!" Unfortunately, there have been recent incidents that underscore the importance of treating each appraisal assignment as a unique endeavor rather than a mere repetition of the past. Problems tend to emerge when appraisers or appraisal firms simply recycle information from older reports into new ones without conducting thorough checks and verifications. It should never be assumed that all the information from previous appraisals ...
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2023 ASFMRA Awards Presented in Nashville

By ASFMRA Press posted 11-21-2023
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Andrew Eames Tel. 303.692.1210 Email: aeames@asfmra.org Rural Property Professionals Receive Recognition Awards Given at 2023 ASFMRA Annual Conference in Nashville November 15, 2023 Glendale, Colo. – The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers® (ASFMRA®) honored dozens of rural appraisers, farm managers and consultants today during the 2023 ASFMRA Annual Conference on November 15, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. At the Accreditation and Awards Ceremony, sponsored by Hertz Farm Management, it was announced that 13 ASFMRA members received their Accredited Farm Management (AFM) designation, while one member ...
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ASFMRA Ag News - November 21, 2023

By ASFMRA Press posted 11-21-2023
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Who’s Buying Nebraska? Corporations, Investors Grabbing Giant Chunks of Nebraska Farmland There’s never a Black Friday discount when a piece of Nebraska farmland hits the market in 2023, be it a fertile field in the Platte River Valley or a vast swath of Sandhills pastureland. The market’s hot. And corporate farms, both in-state and out, are dipping into their deep pockets to claim the increasingly pricey agricultural land they desire. The nine buyers who spent the most money on Nebraska farmland in the past five years are all corporate farming operations, real estate developers or investment firms, an analysis by the Flatwater Free Press found. ...
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