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Star Athletes Join Together to Buy Iowa Farm - 4 More in the Works

The good thing would be…what exactly?
Well they way I am reading it, they are investing in farm land That will continue to be used as Farm Land for one. Says the land will be leased to local farms and the rate of return they are looking for also seems low?

I have read about other countries coming in and buying our land which in my opinion should be illegal. I would much rather have PRO athletes investing their money in our land.

I am not from IOWA or a Farmer, so That is why I said it seems like a good thing. Some may chime in who know better and say it isn't? Either way, being an IOWA board. I thought it may be of some interest as it does have to do with athletes also.
 
Thought this might be of some interest to people on here. Seems like a good thing, hopefully I am correct in this assessment.

I don’t know how this would be considered a good thing. To me this seems like one more group of millionaires buying up valuable land. Not only will they gaining a benefit of owning land that will continue to appreciate in value but they also want to take a cut of the profit from the farmer working the land. When margins are already razor thin.

They frame it as investing in agriculture like they’re good people, but all they are doing is robbing a families future and present. And they are planning on doing it four more times. Fuucck these guys.

Not only are they doing all I said above but more likely than not they are inflating already ballooning land prices. Putting the dream of being your own boss and working your own land even further out of reach for everyday blue collar middle class Americans.
 
I don’t know how this would be considered a good thing. To me this seems like one more group of millionaires buying up valuable land. Not only will they gaining a benefit of owning land that will continue to appreciate in value but they also want to take a cut of the profit from the farmer working the land. When margins are already razor thin.

They frame it as investing in agriculture like they’re good people, but all they are doing is robbing a families future and present. And they are planning on doing it four more times. Fuucck these guys.

Not only are they doing all I said above but more likely than not they are inflating already ballooning land prices. Putting the dream of being your own boss and working your own land even further out of reach for everyday blue collar middle class Americans.
Im afraid in the next generation or 2 there will be about 1-2 giant “farmers” per county. The days of family farms are slowly dying. It’s expand or get choked out by the big players now. All just corporate farming now. There is zero loyalty to neighbors like there used to be, land that is rented goes to the highest bidder. Parents pass away and the kids can’t take the ground to auction fast enough to cash in. Some farmers are rolling in their graves over who’s farming the ground they worked so hard to pay for and provide for their families on!
There is absolutely NOTHING that is good about investors coming in and buying up ground.
 
Unfortunately farming is only successful done at a large scale or in markets/product that are niche that pay a premium price. When I was a kid in the 80's, adding a silo so we could store our silage for the ~ 60 head of milk cows we had killed us. We never had any farm equipment that wasn't over 30 years old and had to rent/pay for some one to combine our corn/soybeans.

Consumer demand of for more for less continues to press out the small guy, only an operation of scale can turn a profit. So every time someone complains about the price of eggs or milk, they are saying "small guy GTFO of my grocery aisle". It amazes me people demand $2 milk or eggs for eternity, but expect a raise every year for their own jobs.

I am ok with private wealthily citizens competing with large corporate ag companies.
 
...I have read about other countries coming in and buying our land which in my opinion should be illegal....
China owns Smithfield Farms. And comes to town to buy your hogs. Well then comes ...

Saudi Arabia needs alfalfa for their cattle. And comes to town to buy your water. Well then comes ...
 
Im afraid in the next generation or 2 there will be about 1-2 giant “farmers” per county. The days of family farms are slowly dying. It’s expand or get choked out by the big players now.
1970's, Earl Butz, Secretary of Agricultural under President Richard Nixon. His message, and his matra, to the american family farmer; "get big, or get out".

The beginning of the final harvest.
 
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Unfortunately farming is only successful done at a large scale or in markets/product that are niche that pay a premium price. When I was a kid in the 80's, adding a silo so we could store our silage for the ~ 60 head of milk cows we had killed us. We never had any farm equipment that wasn't over 30 years old and had to rent/pay for some one to combine our corn/soybeans.

Consumer demand of for more for less continues to press out the small guy, only an operation of scale can turn a profit. So every time someone complains about the price of eggs or milk, they are saying "small guy GTFO of my grocery aisle". It amazes me people demand $2 milk or eggs for eternity, but expect a raise every year for their own jobs.

I am ok with private wealthily citizens competing with large corporate ag companies.
Preferring weather citizens over large corporate ag companies makes no sense to me. That’s like getting kicked in the leg by two separate people and saying the private citizen can keep doing it, and least I don’t mind his shoes. Fact is, you’re still getting kicked in the leg and that’s not good.

I don’t know the solution, I doubt there is one and that’s sad as hell. I just wish that the state of Iowa would do some coalition and stop this from happening, maybe set up a private fund where Iowa residents could be doing this investment. The states losing money, because the returns on these investments aren’t being spent in Iowa, unless it’s to buy more land.
 
Very interesting points being made. That is one of the reasons I posted to get opinions from those who are in IOWA!

Where I live LI, NY use to be all farms. If you came here now, you would not believe that. Even the east end is seeing many farms go under and houses springing up. I do not know what the answers are. Obviously we need farms, and we seem to be in a catch 22 where we have growing population and less farm land.

I am a little concerned about letting other countries come in and buy ANY land!!! Why on earth would we allow that? In NYC many famous places are foreign owned. That is one thing but farm land!?!?!? Where is the food going to go if we ever have a bad shortage?

Right now, for example, my local Super market was almost out of eggs. I have never seen that before? The prices of eggs are also skyrocketing. This will begin to effect all other food prices as I see it. Not a good thing that anyone needs right now.
 
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The land sold was the tillable acres in parcel 1 in the link below. The outfit who sold the land to the PCO investment firm farms a TON of land in Iowa MN and Nebraska. They also have their own fertilizer, trucking and farm management company and own a feed mill/elevator but still call themselves a "Family Farm". Last I checked I think they had about 30 LLCs a few years ago. They bought the land in September after a no sale on the auction in Aug where they were the only bidders at $7500. They worked out a deal to buy privately after. They also had been managing and farming the ground already. Flipped the land immediately to PCO for a very modest $9000 total profit on the deal. You can probably guess who will be farming this ground and why not many details are involved. Very likely that one of the biggest farmers in the state of Iowa will be farming and managing this ground.

This deal doesn't make much sense for these athletes imo. With 2 dozen of them involved the price of their necklace will be worth more than the money they will be making from this in the next 20 years. 100 acres at $400 per divided by 24 and paying PCO a %. Would think they could invest in something like this on their own and hire a farm management company and benefit much more

Edit...I'm guessing the reporting sucks and this is $5mil/athlete which makes more sense than a total amount of $5mil pooled between all 24.

https://assets.bwwsplatform.com/her.../3274/bremer_butler_ia_368.32_050-1162(1).pdf
 
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The land sold was the tillable acres in parcel 1 in the link below. The outfit who sold the land to the PCO investment firm farms a TON of land in Iowa MN and Nebraska. They also have their own fertilizer, trucking and farm management company. Last I checked I think they had about 30 LLCs. They bought the land in September after a no sale on the auction in Aug. They worked out a deal to buy privately after. They also had been managing and farming the ground already. Flipped the land immediately to PCO for a very modest $9000 total profit on the deal. You can probably guess who will be farming this ground and why not many details are involved.

This deal doesn't make much sense for these athletes imo. With 2 dozen of them involved the price of their necklace will be worth more than the money they will be making from this in the next 20 years. 100 acres at $400 per divided by 24 and paying PCO a %. Would think they could invest in something like this on their own and hire a farm management company and benefit much more

https://assets.bwwsplatform.com/her.../3274/bremer_butler_ia_368.32_050-1162(1).pdf
You have best post of the year so far. Great info, no BS! Thanks
 
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I know there are multi-millionaire farmers in my area. A hog farmer friend says he raises hogs for a company in Alabama and probably other states. They send trucks to pick them up.
 
The good thing would be…what exactly?
Keep out of big corporations hands. The bought off politicians have destroyed small town USA. CVS, Walgreens, Home Depot, Lowes, airlines name it. We are supposed to have monopoly laws. Disgusting what has happened to this country.
The list is endless. Auto Parts, hotels, all controlled by huge corporations.
 
I think he is just worried that a decline in agriculture might result in a drop in the supply of raccoons.
Well, on a good day 1 raccoon = 1 bushel of corn. But back when I was a kid, 1 raccoon = 10 bushels of corn. Definitely should have used my profits back then to buy more land instead of more traps. But they never used math examples in school that I could identify with. 🙂
 
These athletes are smart from a diversification aspect of investing.
They have a tangible asset producing income.
Farming is like owning a grocery store. You’re making Pennies per bushel so you have to have a lot of product.
My Dad came from a farm in south central Iowa where they farmed 240 acres with “C”, “M” and “H” tractors with a four row planter and corn picker. They rotated crops of hay, oats, corn and beans. Raised hogs, cattle and chickens for eggs and they had 1 milking cow. The baby chicks came in early spring and were harvested on Labor Day. Some sold to folks in town along with eggs. I spent weeks at a time there in the summer and learned the value of an honest days work at a very young age. I always thought it was fun and not work. They also had an outhouse and takin a dump was fun. Grandpa did lecture me on not wasting lime. Most may not understand this and a few will completely understand.
This is the kind of life that made Iowa wrestlers. Because it’s gone Iowa is no longer the hotbed of college recruiting.

I have very fond memories of this place, to bad my own children weren’t able to witness it.
 
I come from a good ole Iowa farming family. Both of my grandparents farms have been sold. We sold one of them to family. Luckily some cousins have joined together to combine farms and expand. It's been the only way to keep farmland in the family and compete against the outside millionaire/billionaire investors. The rich want to own and control everything.

I know first hand the value of owning farmland. Not the $$ value but the real value of the land and the hard work families put into it and build a family around. Its sad what is happening. I live out in the mountain west now. My wife's family are big ranchers. Same is happening out here. Instead of 160 acres though you're talking families losing thousands of acres of family land. Feels like billionaires own all the land now and control all the agriculture.
 
This is capitalism at it's finest. Not really much to say.
In the literal sense..........

1*MSbtPO2T_m6OYGBtMxArww.jpeg
 
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Unfortunately farming is only successful done at a large scale or in markets/product that are niche that pay a premium price. When I was a kid in the 80's, adding a silo so we could store our silage for the ~ 60 head of milk cows we had killed us. We never had any farm equipment that wasn't over 30 years old and had to rent/pay for some one to combine our corn/soybeans.

Consumer demand of for more for less continues to press out the small guy, only an operation of scale can turn a profit. So every time someone complains about the price of eggs or milk, they are saying "small guy GTFO of my grocery aisle". It amazes me people demand $2 milk or eggs for eternity, but expect a raise every year for their own jobs.

I am ok with private wealthily citizens competing with large corporate ag companies.
Lol Who you think sets up those corporate entities, in general? Wealthy citizens funding corporate (ag) interests with the expectation of growth.
 
I don’t know how this would be considered a good thing. To me this seems like one more group of millionaires buying up valuable land. Not only will they gaining a benefit of owning land that will continue to appreciate in value but they also want to take a cut of the profit from the farmer working the land. When margins are already razor thin.

They frame it as investing in agriculture like they’re good people, but all they are doing is robbing a families future and present. And they are planning on doing it four more times. Fuucck these guys.

Not only are they doing all I said above but more likely than not they are inflating already ballooning land prices. Putting the dream of being your own boss and working your own land even further out of reach for everyday blue collar middle class Americans.
I understand and respect your thoughts.

The reality is that these guys see this as a very good investment opportunity; and think they'll make money from it. Is that wrong in America? You might not like it but nothing they are doing is illegal. If people don't like doing business with them then they won't.
 
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