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SW WI | I've been thinking about this all week. Maybe the pre-ethanol boom days are getting a little cloudy. I think we remember the ldp game, worked well to get sales on the books in spring or summer, then hope for the harvest low to capture a (good?) LDP.
In the late 90's and early 2000's a big problem around me was urban sprawl. With the majority of the economy doing well and the farm economy sort of stagnant, my area was losing a lot of productive ground to development. Counties and townships developed land use plans and tried to tighten up zoning laws. I served on my township committee. Was some heated discussion. Some viewed it as the land was their next egg to sell to the highest bidder, since crop prices are so low it must mean we have a surplus of productive land anyway. Opponents of that wanted to see farmland stay farmland.
I know we are not in a true capitalistic system anymore, but I made the comment to someone that farmland would stay farmland when I as a farmer can match or maybe outbid a developer. That same person told me that would never happen.
So fast forward thru the economic crash of 08 and the strong crop prices of the last few years. These things maybe are just the luck of the draw but urban sprawl around me stopped. Will be interesting to see how the future plays out. | |
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