According to USDA data, the average value of U.S. cropland jumped to a record high average of $2,700 per acre in 2007, up from $1,340 ten years ago.

By AUCTIONEERS.ORG
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - 10:00 am

Auctions in today's economy are getting higher value for property and smooth, quicker sales than some clients expect. When home sales prices are down in traditional listings, as has occurred this year, sometimes people expect homes at auction to bring low prices also. However this year many sellers have found that the targeted marketing and copetitive atmosphere among buyers created by auctions has brought at least fair market value, and sometimes higher prices, for their homes.

That is why bankers, attorneys, court appointed trustees are also among those who are turning properties over to auctioneers to sell. This year has brought a large number of home foreclosure auctions across the country as homeowners default on loans when they could not pay the rising interest rates. Some of these homes went to foreclosure auctions. However that does not automatically mean a forced sale brings a low price. In fact, whether it is a foreclosed home or a newly-built home (which some builders seel by auction!), the job of the professional auctioneer is to find buyers in advance, get them to an auction and encourage them to compete to bid up the price.

Do not fall back on the myth that auctions bring low prices. That is simply not true. Sellers find tremendous return on their investment with auctions, and they like having the option to set a reserve price, a minimum they will accept, as a protection against a low price. Details on a reserve price can be set in your contract with an auctioneer.

Also, auctioneers are working more closely with Realtors than ever before. Auctioneers are partnering with Realtors in selling some homes by auction, with both parties getting paid in the process. Realtors are finding out how strong the prices obtained at auctions are, prompting Realtors to come back time and time again to partner with auctioneers.

Whether you are a Realtor, Banker, Judge, individual homeowner or estate executor, there are many reasons to consider auctions as a method of fast sale that can obtain good prices.

By DENNIS GALE
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - 10:00 am

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture says lots of work remains to be done before a new five-year farm bill can escape President Bush's veto pen and become law. Chuck Conner, acting secretary of the USDA, told South Dakota Corn Growers Association members that versions that have passed the House and Senate are unacceptable because they include raising taxes and increasing the size of some programs. The House farm bill passed 231-191 and the Senate version passed 79-14. A conference committee is the next step.

"Raising taxes to pay for farm programs ... is something we have not done since 1933," Conner told association members at their annual meeting over the weekend. People who earn more than $200,000 a year averaged over three years should not be getting farm program payments, he said. He employed a graphic to show farm bill beneficiaries who live in New York City. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., who also spoke at the Corn Growers banquet over the weekend, said the energy bill passed in December is as important to South Dakota corn producers as the farm bill.

A minimum of 9 billion gallons of ethanol will be produced this year, and work is needed to break down the barriers to ethanol use, he said. Conner said meeting the energy requirements the new energy bill places on agriculture will be a big challenge, calling it a "great opportunity." People would rather depend on the American farmer for fuel than on foreign interests, he said. The energy bill requires a massive increase in the production of ethanol for motor fuels, from the roughly 6 billion gallons this year to 36 billion gallons by 2022. After 2015, the emphasis would be on expanded use of cellulosic ethanol, made from such feedstock as switchgrass and wood chips, with two-thirds of the ethanol — 21 billion gallons a year — from such non-corn sources. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., said the higher standard means the U.S. is on its way toward energy independence, and not a moment too soon, given that oil traded at more than $100 a barrel on the first day of trading in 2008.