Annual Land Report Dec 2014 by Mike Walsten, Editor, LandOwner Newsletter. Farmland demand cooled throughout 2014 as commodity prices continued their two-year-long decline into major lows this fall. The slide sliced farm incomes significantly. Forecasts call for additional declines in farm incomes in 2015, and possibly beyond. Read entire report here
Strong Dollar Weighs on Rural Economy. Rural bankers saw a continued decline in both the rural economy and farmland prices over the past month. The strong U.S. dollar is making U.S. corn less attractive on the global market. The glut of corn and soybeans harvested in 2014 continues to weigh heavily on their respective prices. The stabilization of U.S. farmland prices has increased investor interest in farmland with investors purchasing a slightly larger number of acres than eight months ago. The Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI), an index which ranges from 0 to 100 with 50.0 representing growth neutral, …READ MORE Our …
Board Rejects TCEQ Order For Briscoe County Annexation. During their March 13 regular meeting, the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District (HPWD) Board of Directors unanimously rejected an order from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) recommending annexation of the western portion of Briscoe County into the district. The five-member board made its decision after receiving comments at a public hearing earlier in the day. “We believe in local control. The Board of Directors listened to Briscoe County residents and honored their wishes not to be annexed into the water conservation district,” said HPWD President Lynn Tate of Amarillo. TCEQ designated the Briscoe, …