Farmers National Company plans seminar

“Farmers National Company is uniquely positioned to serve as the entry point into the cropland market for investors,” 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.”

As part of that process, Farmers National Company, the nation’s largest rural real estate and farm management company, has announced its latest seminar aimed at assisting new investors wanting to learn about investing in farmland. It will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 in Overland Park.

Even before the recent recession, cropland was a good investment, Gaughan said. “Investors who have not considered cropland are often stunned to find that on average cropland has returned over 12.5 percent annually for over 40 years. But now investors are considering cropland not only because it is attractive, but because the alternatives seem so bleak.”

But often investors wanting to get into the cropland market are wary about making poor decisions, or being taken advantage of, due to their lack of experience. How can they be comfortable that they are making a good decision both now and in the future? Being a farm management company, Farmers National Company can solve that problem for investors.

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 will be able to purchase all needed supplies at the lowest possible prices.

“If we just approach this as Realtors trying to close deals, we wind up wasting our clients’ time,” Gaughan said. “Certainly we need to provide expertise on the acquisition of the land, but that’s just part of the process. Our investors first want information on risk management, return on investment, lease arrangements, succession planning, capital gains tax strategies and much more. Until they are satisfied that their concerns on the investment side of the ledger are answered they aren’t going to finalize purchase decisions on land, and we must be ready to address those concerns.”

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, such as the one slated Nov. 20.

The seminar covers the following topics: An historical perspective on owning cropland as an investment, the 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, a discussion of whether or not cropland prices are on a bubble, and the next logical steps.

If after the seminar investors are still interested, they meet with Farmers National Company to determine their individual goals. Each investor’s goals and needs are different and each will need different resources. Some may need a lender, others will want tenant farmers found. Some may want professional farm management. Others want legal advice on succession planning, tax shelters, liability management and more.

Farmers National Company is extraordinarily diligent in suggesting purchase decisions. Unless investors are very experienced in purchasing farmland, the company makes sure that multiple parties sign off that a parcel is a good investment. Farmers National Company sorts through on a daily basis dozens of properties that come on the market, but over 90 percent of them are rejected as not being acceptable for their investors.

Seminar seating is limited, so even though the seminar is free, attendees are asked to register. For location information and to register, visit 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 FarmersNational.com.

This story was originally published November 8, 2014 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Farmers National Company plans seminar."