r. fj The bloom may already be one ose famous Lan off the rose when it comes to cas * er County farm auc farmland prices tions While showing some - I realized this recently at visiting relatives our DON'T OWN YOUR OUTPUT SALE MODEL H.P. WATTS PRICE HSB-50 11 5000 *1849.95 • Briggs & Stratton Engine, Electric Start, Inciosed Unit Includes Extra Fuel Tank. Hook This Unit Up Directly To Your Home. Stores Outside. ★ PRICES GOOD THRU JAN. 31. ★ ALL MODELS LISTED ARE IN STOCK * CALL KEN BURKHART OR GALEN WEAVER Farm Talk Jerry Webb HOMELITE GENERATORS beautiful area, my wife Joan and I decided they might enjoy a farm auction So properly bundled in our wannest clothes, we headed off in the general direction of Lancaster for an auction that included about 40 acres of land and the usual farm buildings, plus some household goods and other items While the auctioneer droned on trying to get dollar bids for well worn used tires and rusty buckets, I strolled the grounds a bit and then started talking to one of the natives about what that farm might be worth After some head scratching and a little reminiscing, he came up with $lOO,OOO as a fair price There was some good flat ground where tobacco had been grown and some more ground with considerable slope A stream ran through the front of the property and the buildings were okay but nothing to brag about So that meant about $2500 an acre quite a bit when you stop and think how little could actually be produced on a 40-acre farm and how big the mortgage payments would be, and the number of improvements that would have to be made before the place could really be con sidered ready to go. Finally, the farm junk was sold and the auctioneer turned his attention to the real estate. First, a legal looking little gentleman climbed up on a wooden box and read at great length the conditions of sale And then the bidding started, very slow and deliberate, with hardly any indication of who was ac tually buying. GET LIFT OUT IN THE DARK, OWN POWER & LIGHT COMPANY! OUTPUT SALE MODEL WATTS PRICE 176A35 8 3500 *849.95 178A50 10 5000 1199.95 180A75 16 7500 1 749.95 • Heavy Duty Contractor Generators • Briggs & Stratton Engines, 20 & 30 AMP. 120 & 240 Volt, Loadamatic Idle Control RD 4 Ephrata, PA 7X7-354-4271 Hours: Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. - 7:30 to 5:30; Thurs. til 9; Sat. til 3 It started at $2OOO an acre, moved slowly to $2500 and then just hung there for what seemed ten minutes, with the auctioneer chanting and chanting and nobody bid ding At last he stopped, said they would take a brief in termission, and be back in 15 minutes In the meantime, the auctioneer’s son started selling the household junk. Again, the auctioneer came back and started his chant at $2500 He chanted and chanted and finally got someone to bid $2525. Then there was a short con ference, another in termission, and finally word came that the owners did not consider that an adequate price And so, after wasting at least a half hour, the decision was made not to sell the place. Apparently the owners thought it was worth more than the $103,000 offered It will be interesting to watch some other Lancaster County farm auctions and land sales in other parts of the Mid-Atlantic area to see what is happening. Certainly that one case doesn’t foretell all of the future of farm real estate But it may be one expression of how folks are thinking, that farmland really isn’t worth as much as it used to be. The Department of Agriculture in a recent forecast is saying that ac tivity in the farm real estate market will actually decline The experts are looking at five to 10 percent increases for the survey year which ends February 1, 1981 That’s well below the 13 percent average rate over the last 10 years and the 15 H.P FARMERSWIE EQUIPMENT INC. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 17,1981—C13 percent increase for the year that ended February 1,1980. A lot of things affect what fanners are willing to pay for land and some of them will pay too much simply because they want it and it may be the only chance they have to buy it And some farmers can pay too much because they will add it to an existing farm and average the cost with land bought much more cheaply years ago. - But when it gets right down to it, they must con sider how they’re going to pay for that land. And that’s what stops so many farmers from this contmued in flationary land pricing They are realizing that the profits just aren’t there and some other folks who have been buying up real estate Farm Show features demonstrations FARM SHOW - Educational demonstrations ranging from renovating your lawn to winterizing your home were featured in a “mini-theater” at the Penn State College of Agriculture exhibit at the 65th Farm Show. Extension staff members, along with 4-H members from throughout the state, presented educational topics every 20 minutes. "Popular presentations are money management, selecting a garden site, growing vegetable tran- splants, beekeeping, clothing care and home food preservation ” savs Harry MODEL E 1350 El7OO E 2250 E3OOO E4OOO • Briggs & Stratton Engines • 20 AMP -120 Volt Receptacles are starting to feel that way also. It’s hard to borrow money and pay exorbitant interest rates to buy a piece of land that really won’t pay for itself. And if inflationary land value increases are starting to dwindle, then maybe the good times in land selling are about over. That’s not to say that farmland won’t continue to be a good buy and that prices will stand still or drop. I don’t believe they will. They’re just not going to go up at as fast a rate in the near future and maybe not for a long time, unless something drastic happens in world food demand or in world food policies And I’ll bet it will be careful shop ping for most farmland buyers during the next few years A. Carey, extension exhibits specialist, who along with Richard Kipp, Extension visuals specialist, created and designed the 1000 square foot exhibit. In another section of the exhibit, Extension faculty and staff point out the educational services the College provides to all residents of the Com monwealth. In still another section of the exhibit, College of Agriculture students explain curricula, courses and ac tivities available for those interested in applymg for admission to the college. OUTPUT WATTS 1300 1700 2250 3000 4000 H.P. 349.95 399.95 499.95 599.95 799.95 SALE PRICE
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers