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