News: farmers killing themselves in staggering numbers

[ovrszd]

Sometimes but more times than not I see farms bought up by developers and a short time later see a bunch of cookie cutter houses in what use to be corn fields.

My brother bought 205 acres a few years ago close by and he paid $160,000. Big 15 year old house and nice big barns, 130 acres of which is tillable.

That's $780 per acre. Either a few years ago is a lot different in Maine or there's an error in the money. :confused3:

 

[ovrszd]

Just to give you fellows an idea, what size ag really is. A few years ago in my home state (we don't reside there) was wet, so they were combining wheat that was on the wet side. We were at my sisters operation watching these full sized trucks rolling in, filled with this high moisture grain, that needed to be dried before it could be stored.. A few were dumping grain in front of us into the drying system and I know they had at that time three combines operating in the fields running 24/7. Two were contact harvesters but that's a side bar. So I asked my brother-in-law working there "how many acres of wheat are in this system being moved to here and being dried?" That is, the grain in the combines, field wagons and the trucks on the road being hauled to us. He thought a minute and says "3/4 of a section worth". A section is a square mile.

This is the high protein winter wheat we make our bread from. This is the ag industry and yes, they are a family ran operation.

Good friend of mine plants 25K acres of corn/soybeans pee year. They can bin 4,000 bushels per hour.

 

[atsah]

That's $780 per acre. Either a few years ago is a lot different in Maine or there's an error in the money. :confused3:

It's a lot different here, land is cheap, taxes are cheap, most things are cheap in northern Maine. The coast and south of Bangor is like any other place.

 

[atsah]

A thousand an acre in our town is the norm. Sometimes $500 an acre can be had. There is no work here, no health insurance, not much of anything for anyone to live here. Potato farms here and there, milk farms as well, unless you work for the state or in the logging industry there isn't much work. Finding work around here and making enough to support a family is a tough row to hoe..

 

[ovrszd]

It's a lot different here, land is cheap, taxes are cheap, most things are cheap in northern Maine. The coast and south of Bangor is like any other place.

Land prices directly reflect return on the investment.

If your land prices are that depressed who can afford to buy the developer's cookie cutter houses?

At $800 an acre I can't understand why you aren't buying land. :confused3:

 

[ovrszd]

A thousand an acre in our town is the norm. Sometimes $500 an acre can be had. There is no work here, no health insurance, not much of anything for anyone to live here. Potato farms here and there, milk farms as well, unless you work for the state or in the logging industry there isn't much work. Finding work around here and making enough to support a family is a tough row to hoe..

Sorry, I was typing while you were. So again, how can developers sell new houses?

 

[atsah]

Land prices directly reflect return on the investment.

If your land prices are that depressed who can afford to buy the developer's cookie cutter houses?

At $800 an acre I can't understand why you aren't buying land. :confused3:

I have no need to buy land, by the time it becomes valuable, (if it ever does) I'll be dead.

Out of state people buy developed houses and use them for vacation homes.

 

[ovrszd]

I have no need to buy land, by the time it becomes valuable, (if it ever does) I'll be dead.

Out of state people buy developed houses and use them for vacation homes.

I was simply thinking of it as a solid investment. At $500 an acre it would be very hard to lose money. As my large farmer says, "they ain't makin any more land".

With logging and tourist money the opportunities may not be farming.

Your Brother set himself up for retirement with his purchase

 

[atsah]

Your Brother set himself up for retirement with his purchase

He actually farms his place a bit, hays 100 acres, has some beef cattle, a bunch of chickens and pigs and a few work horses. Nice place.

Lots of out of state people own houses here for snowmobiling, atving, fishing , hunting that sort of thing, I am the only person within 10 miles that stays here year round, the rest come and go with the seasons. I just bought a place in Florida, I was approached by a young guy from RI not two weeks ago that told me to call him before I list my place. My small log home on 25 acres is perfect for the vacationing Maine type people so it wont last long.

 

[ruffdog]

A local guy that married into money bought up a bunch of land (2000+ acres) over the years. About a dozen years ago he bought some near me for $12.5k an acre and it is good fields and some woods. He doesn't farm, instead, he was buying for investment. His pie-in-the-sky ideas have not panned out yet though.

The local city annexed farm land and was "willing" to sell it to the school district for $27k an acre so they could build a sports complex. That is, until the public found out about it......