News Desk

Governors Announce Plan to Protect Lower Colorado River

A trio of governors announced a plan to protect the parched Lower Colorado River. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo submitted their plan to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the Bureau of Reclamation on May 22. Their goal is to conserve 3 million acre-feet over the next three years. In return, they proposed that the federal government pay $1.2 billion to the municipalities, Native American tribes, and water districts for lower levels of water consumption. Lower Colorado River Basin Arizona, California, and Nevada are three of the seven Southwest states that

Arthur Blank Donates Record-Setting Conservation Easement

Arthur Blank is most widely known as the cofounder of Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons. However, he’s also a philanthropist whose Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has donated more than $1 billion since its inception in 1995, including more than $28 million in grants to community organizations in Montana. On April 19, 2023, Blank signed off on the largest conservation easement to date in Paradise Valley just north of Yellowstone National Park in Southwest Montana. Established in partnership with the Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT), this easement will permanently protect his 8,800-acre Paradise Valley Ranch by limiting

Farmland Partners Nets 24% Gain

Farmland Partners Inc. (FPI) announced the sale of 2,426 acres of farmland in Nebraska and South Carolina to the tenants currently renting the properties. The combined transactions totaled $16.2 million. Together, the two sales represented a gain of more than $3.1 million. According to Farmland Partners, this equated to approximately 24 percent over net book value. The transactions were announced on May 15. Farmland Partners The nation’s largest publicly traded farmland real estate investment trust (REIT), Farmland Partners purchases, leases, and manages high-quality farmland throughout North America. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2022, the company invested

Farmland Values Increase 10 Percent in Seventh District

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported a 10 percent increase in farmland values for the first quarter of 2023. The uptick marked the eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth. Current Farmland Values “Farmland values in the first quarter of 2023 moved up again, 10 percent from a year ago and 2 percent from a quarter ago, so maybe not quite as strong a performance as in the previous seven quarters, but certainly still a double-digit increase for the year-over-year value that shows there’s continued strength in farmland values,” said David Oppedahl, a policy advisor at Chicago Fed. Indiana

Please sign me up to receive breaking news and updates from The Land Report:

The Land Report Portfolio

Wellington Equestrian Market Jumps to $692,000 Per Acre

Equestrian lands in Palm Beach County are galloping at a record pace: $692,000 per acre, according to the Wellington Land Report. According to data from the latest Wellington Land Report, which is produced by longtime South Florida broker Brad Scherer and his Atlantic Western Companies, equestrian property sales in the Wellington market dipped to

Dumbbell Ranch Under Contract

Nebraska’s Dumbbell Ranch has gone to contract. According to The Nebraska Examiner, the 15,568-acre Nebraska Sandhills cow-calf operation listed in March for $16.7 million ($1,072 per acre) with Mark Johnson of Hall and Hall. Less than a month later, the ranch was reported by Cindy Gonzalez at The Examiner to be under contract

John Wayne’s Ranch Under Contract

Rancho Pavoreal, a 2,000-acre Southern California ranch once owned by John Wayne, recently went under contract. The property was listed for $12 million ($6,000 an acre) by Tatiana Novick of Coldwell Banker Realty. Frequent market activity Established in 1950, the ranch sits in the community of Sage, close to California’s Temecula Wine Country.

H.R. Smith Ranch Donated to King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management

The historic H.R. Smith Ranch in South Texas has been gifted to the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management (KRIRM) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. The historic ranch gift and an accompanying monetary donation represent the largest philanthropic donation in the university’s history. The estate of H.R. Smith’s only child, Mary Carroll Sheets Gregory,

Sonoco Sells 55,000 Acres of South Carolina Timberland

Global packaging company Sonoco Products recently sold 55,000 acres of South Carolina timberland to Manulife Investment Management, a firm specializing in sustainable timberland and agricultural investments, for $72 million (roughly $1,300 an acre). Sonoco had previously committed to using paper made exclusively from recycled materials, intending to no longer source natural tree fiber

California’s Lakeside Ranch Preserved

Palo Alto-based Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) recently announced the purchase of Lakeside Ranch, a 1,986-acre property in California’s Santa Clara County, for $22.36 million ($11,258 per acre). One of the largest remaining intact ranches in the South Bay area, Lakeside Ranch adjoins previously protected lands on three sides. Its acquisition increases the permanently

S. Kidman Sells 6 Million Acres in Australia

Kidman & Co., a joint venture between Hancock Agriculture and Shanghai-based CRED Pastoral, recently announced the sale of more than 6 million acres in Queensland Channel Country and the Northern Territory’s Barkly region. As reported by Jon Condon of Beef Central, the sale includes four properties: Glengyle Station, which covers roughly 1.3 million

Florida Timberland Values Forecast to Stay Strong

Florida timberland values increased last year and are expected to stay strong in 2023, according to the 2022 Lay of the Land Market Report recently released by SVN | Saunders Ralston Dantzler. The annual report summarizes Florida market activity in key land and real estate sectors. “We experienced a very active market in

Virginia’s Linden Farm to Sell at Auction

Linden Farm, a 470-acre farm in north-central Virginia, will be sold at auction on May 17. Scott Shuman, partner at Hall and Hall, will serve as auctioneer for the property. Broker Alex Webel of Hall and Hall is the listing agent. Located in Orange County — roughly 90 minutes south of Washington, DC,

Hawaii’s Dillingham Ranch Sells

Dillingham Ranch, a 2,740-acre oceanfront property on the north shore of Oahu, has sold for $36.5 million ($13,321 an acre), which represents a 44 percent reduction from the original listing price of $65 million. The Wall Street Journal reported the sale to an undisclosed buyer in March. The historic property includes a working

Print & Gift
Subscriptions Available