paul the original - 8/19/2015 10:45

So....

Don't there have to be winners and losers in all that?

If land is worth X plus taxes

And rent is worth Y

If renting is better, then why does anyone own land, or why is the price of land where it is?

Or, how can their be a win for both sides, land owners and land renters both come out better?

If renting land is 10 times better than owning land, then why does anyone own any land?

Or the other way around.

Because their are other payoffs to owning land like I had mentioned earlier. It could be worth double what you paid in 20 years. It could be your home base. It could save you on taxes. It could border your own farm. It can give you stability in land base.
I'm not against buying land and I have done so myself several times now.
All I am saying is that from a cost of production/ profitability standpoint it doesn't make sense . At least not in my area with my numbers.
He said he is a young guy so I'm assuming he'd be going into debt. He asked about breakeven from a business standpoint.

One more thought on the topic paul..
It seems to me that the ability to buy land comes as the reward from running a successful farm for years. Those are the guys you see buying ground at auctions or private....the guys who have earned their money leasing land or having a different business 1st. I just never see a young guy going out and buying farmland today and then making a profit on it at least in conventional agriculture. You gotta make the money 1st, don't you think??

Josh Moorefield
Moorefieldhayfarms.com



Paul