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QUESTION:CDN$ or US$?
The problem that I have with auctions is that I don't know enough
about the equipment to make sure that I'm not buying a headache.
I bought a used backhoe, (not at an auction), and oh man.
I ended up replacing a master cylinder, getting the starter redone,
replacing the soleniod, etc.etc.etc.
I don't want a repeat of that experience.
The first time I met one of my neighbours out on the farm,
he offered to pay me $0 to lease my land for 3 years.
He didn't tell me what I'd be getting for my $0/acre/year for 3 years,
so I said no thank you. (At this point he got angry and subtly
threatened me with the weed inspector... so even if I ever decide
that I am willing for someone else to have the use of the land,
it won't be that fellow.)
ANSWER: It takes a crafty buyer not to get taken at auction, but you can find
your best bargains there. Look for a very well kept farm with immaculate
machinery and an on-site shop capable of doing equipment repair. Avoid
bankruptcy auctions like the plague, and concentrate on retirement
auctions where an established farmer is selling out. Bankrupts always
defer maintenance until the equipment falls apart. A farmer who owns his
land and equipment free and clear often runs older equipment but keeps it
in very good running shape.
Then show up at sale preview time and make sure the equipment works.
It's irrigated, and produces 25 to 30 tons of corn silage per acre. That
makes the tenant's land cost about $7 per ton of silage, and his farm is
right next door so he doesn't have any trucking costs.
OTOH, she just got the check for last year on the dry 75 acres, which
came to a total of $2900. The tenant sold his wheat for $2.95, which is
as good as you can do nowdays. This year it came to about $39/acre. A
few years back it came to almost $300/acre. Sharecropping is a really
fair arrangement, since the lease value is reflected in the true market
value of the produce. You have to trust your tenant, though.
What are the common crops in your area? 60 acres is a big enough field
to interest most operations if your land has any productive value. If it
is hardpan or desert you are SOL, but even in the current wretched state
of agriculture you should be able to locate a large operator in desperate
need of a few more acres to farm. If all you do is provide the land, you
should get a third of the crop. If you go halves on seed, fertilizer and
chemicals, you should get half the crop. You may have to clear it
yourself.
I would rent a cat for a month with a brush rake. that is a bar on back
with teeth that stick down into the soil. It will pull all the trees and
shrubs up by the roots, where you can use the blade to push them into a
pile and burn them. Take your vacation, because clearing land takes a
lot of long hours. If you rent a D6 or better and don't have too much
volume, you should be able to root and burn 60 acres in about two weeks,
clean enough to plow. At that point you could turn it over to a tenant.
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