Category Archives: Purchasing Property

2019 USDA Land Values Summary

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The USDA recently released their 2019 Land Values Summary, which reports average agricultural land values across the United States.  To view the report, click here.   The report looks at the value of agricultural land across the country in several different categories.  Information comes from USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service survey responses. The broadest measure of land value in the report is the “farm real estate value.”  This measures the current market value of “all land and buildings used for agricultural production, including dwellings.”  For 2019, the average… Read More →

Ag Land Sale and Grazing Lease Gone Wrong

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The facts underlying the Austin Court of Appeals decision in Marek v. Lehrer are an agricultural real estate deal gone terribly wrong.  This case is a great example of why it is so important to have every agreement  put into writing and timely signed by the parties. Factual Background R.L. Lehrer, a cattle rancher in San Saba County decided to sell 257 acres of his property and to lease the property back to continue grazing his cattle.  He planned to use the proceeds from the property sale and from… Read More →

2018 Texas Rural Land Value Trends Published

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Each year, the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers & Rural Appraisers publishes the Texas Rural Land Value Trends report.  This document provides helpful, interesting information for Texas landowners on both average property value and lease rates for agricultural land across the state. The state wide average price per acre increased, up to $2,779/acre.  This is up 5.1% from a year ago.  The publication divides the state into seven regions, within which are multiple sub regions.  Land is broken down into different categories applicable to the… Read More →