Farmers National schedules seminar on cropland investment

Is now the best time to invest in cropland? Farmers National Company, the world’s largest farm real estate and management company, will hold a seminar at 7 p.m. June 11 to answer that question.

The recent decline in commodity prices has put a temporary halt to the growth in land values that reached double digit annual appreciation over the last few years. As a result, this current pause in the value of cropland may have created some excellent investment opportunities.

As Warren Buffet put it, “The most common cause of low prices is pessimism — sometimes pervasive, sometimes specific to a company or industry. We want to do business in such an environment, not because we like pessimism but because we like the prices it produces. It’s optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer.”

So should an investor be concerned about the current price of cropland? If one were to observe return on investment over a 100-year period they would see that farmland on average returns over 10 percent per year to investors, when considering both rental income and appreciation of the land itself. It would also show that cropland very rarely declines sharply in value, so cropland can usually be counted on to increase, or at a minimum, hold its value while at the same time providing annual income through rentals. It’s sort of like owning gold if it returned a dividend.

“For the cautious investor, Farmers National Company is uniquely positioned to serve as the entry point into the cropland market,” said local broker Bill Gaughan. “As the world’s largest farm management company, we don’t just walk away from a client when the sale closes. We can work with a client for years into the future to assure that their investment stays lucrative and to protect their interests. Utilizing Farmers National Company to source and manage your farmland means that we have a fiduciary responsibility to protect your investment long after the property sells.”

The biggest change seen with lower commodity prices is that farmers are less likely to commit to long-term cash rent leases. This makes the services of Farmers National Company even more valuable, as it can guide investors through more complex lease arrangements that return satisfactory results, but require the experience and expertise of a professional farm management team.

Since Farmers National Company is more than just a real estate company, client support does not end at the close of the sale. If the client desires, Farmers National Company can serve as the property manager to oversee the entire operation. Even clients who are investing in farmland for the first time can do so with a huge amount of confidence because Farmers National Company will support them for as long as they want.

Not only can Farmers National Company find farmers to rent the land, determine the best agricultural practices, negotiate the best lease and market the grain, but by leveraging Farmers National Company’s immense buying power clients may be able to purchase all needed supplies at the lowest possible prices.

The most common way for investors to determine if they are interested in cropland is to attend one of Farmers National Company’s popular series of seminars for cropland investors. The next seminar will be in Overland Park at 7 p.m. June 11.

The seminar covers the following topics: An historical perspective on owning cropland as an investment, a look forward toward potential returns in cropland investing over the next few years, how to identify the best land to purchase, how to minimize any risk, how to maximize the investment potential, and what are the next logical steps.

After the seminar, investors can then meet with Farmers National Company to determine their individual goals. Some may need a lender; others will want tenant farmers found. Others want information on succession planning, tax impact, liability management and more.

Seating is limited, so even though the seminar is free, attendees are asked to register. For location information and to register, visit www.KCLandSeminar.com, call Farmers National Company at 913-837-4665, or email info@FarmersNationalKC.com. On the web you can visit FarmersNational.com/KC.

Farmers National Company, an employee-owned company, is the nation’s leading agricultural farm and ranch management and agricultural real estate sales company. Farmers National Company has sold over 3,500 farms (over 1,100 at auction) for more than $2.37 billion during the last five years and currently manages more than 4,850 farms and ranches (2.1 million acres) in 24 states. Additional services provided by the company include auctions, appraisals, insurance, consultation services, oil and gas management, forest resource management, lake management, FNC Ag Stock and a national hunting lease service. Visit the Farmers National Company website at www.FarmersNational.com.

This story was originally published May 23, 2015 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Farmers National schedules seminar on cropland investment."