Blogs by Andrew Westlake

AI is reshaping agricultural appraisal, from data centers converting farmland to AI tools transforming how appraisers work. Learn how credentialed appraisers stay essential in the age of artificial intelligence.

Learn how the sales comparison approach uses real market transactions, comparable sales, and adjustment factors to estimate farmland value in Iowa and the Midwest.

Learn how the cost approach helps determine farmland value by analyzing land improvements, replacement costs, and investment decisions. Understand when this valuation method matters most in agricultural appraisal.

See how income, expenses, and risk shape farmland value. Learn how the income approach works, why earnings matter, and what buyers watch when evaluating land.

When corporations decide to dispose of real estate outside of core urban markets, they often encounter a unique and complex set of challenges.

While farmland value is primarily driven by land quality, water rights, and production potential, agribusiness assets are valued based on operational efficiency and EBITDA performance, with technology, processing capacity, and supply chain management playing key roles.

In farm and rural real estate appraisal, it is essential to understand that the aggregated value of a property is not always equal to the disaggregated value of its parts.

Michigan stands as one of the most agriculturally diverse states in the U.S., producing over 300 different commodities. This diversity is second only to California, thanks to Michigan’s unique combination of fertile soil, ample rainfall, and varied microclimates.

Growing up on my family’s dairy farm in the picturesque hills of Northeast Iowa, I always felt a deep sense of peace walking along the pastures and field driveways. Even though I didn’t know where those walks might lead, there was something grounding about them. Today, I find that same sense of stability when I talk with landowners about their family farms or recent land investments. After 12 years in the appraisal field, I’m honored to hold the ARA designation, which has been both humbling and grounding in my career.