The 2012 Crop – Promising Beginning – Uncertain Ending The 2012 crop got off to a good start. Warm conditions in March kicked off an early beginning to fieldwork. Most corn in our area was planted by early May, with soybean planting completed by mid-May. Good rains in March and April helped replenish soil moisture levels that were very low after last year’s late season drought
Land sales have been plentiful so far in 2012. We’ve tracked 141 parcels of land sold at auction through June 30th. Last year was a very active year for land auctions but we’d “only” tracked 88 parcels through June 30, 2011 using identical procedures. Sale activity normally increases during the last half of the year. In 2011, nearly 75% of the auctions occurred after July 1st. One would think the second half of 2012 will be a busy time for land sales as well. Study of the price trend indicates steady to higher values but with variances per neighborhood. The most recent sales show stronger values which may partially reflect a good crop developing in western Iowa combined with a surge in grain prices in June and July. While land values don’t vary based on daily grain prices, a significant uptrend in potential income certainly helps the mood.
Stalcup Ag Service is celebrating its 70th year in the professional farm management, real estate, and appraisal business. H.E. “Buck” Stalcup started his business in Storm Lake in 1942 providing primarily appraisal and real estate services to absentee landowners who owned land in northwest Iowa. The firm has grown from a one-man shop to a company with seven full time manager/appraisers and five office staf
Travis Nissen joined the Stalcup staff in March 2012 as a farm real estate appraiser trainee to meet the high demand for certified farm appraisals. Travis grew up in Lake Park, a small town near Spirit Lake in northwest Iowa. He earned a BS degree in Finance and Real Estate from the University of Northern Iowa in 2011. While attending college, he had a year-long internship with a commercial and residential appraisal firm in Waterloo.
Food services took the biggest chunk of consumer food dollars in 2010, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). The dollar below represents money spent in grocery stores and “food service establishments.” While restaurants take the biggest chunk, their share was actually down 0.7¢ from 2009. The pennies coming back to the farm were at 14¢ in 1993, fell to a dime in 2009 and increased 0.1¢ in 2010. Food processing costs saw the biggest one-year increase, rising a penny to 21.7¢ in 2010
