Peoples Perspective

With the Sales Closing Deadline approaching, I have been asked several questions regarding the different crop insurance plans and how they work. More specifically, the Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) and Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) endorsement. Both endorsements provide coverage for a portion of the deductible of an insured underlying crop insurance policy.

I have worked with a variety of non-profit organizations, education institutions, and federal partners over the past 10 years in the farmland conservation space. Our vocabulary has changed over time, but the intent has remained constant: we work to leave the land better than how we found it.

Please join Peoples Company for our “Big Questions in Land Management” webinar series on Wednesday, February 28, from 3:00 - 4:30 PM Central Time. Founder and CEO, John Roach with Roach Ag will discuss “Use Fundamentals Plus an Algorithm for Crop Marketing.” Other topics include “Land Management Services” with George Baird, Owner of Landmark Ag, “Using Drones for Application” with Danny Assman, Partner of Terraplex, and “Renewable (Wind, Solar, Batteries) Discussion” with Brad Haight, Owner of Farm First Energy. Please mark your calendars for this free webinar to hear from these industry experts.

Peoples Company tracks agricultural auctions across the state of Iowa. From this data, we calculate the average dollar per CSR2 point ($/CSR2) for sales of tracts with greater than 85% tillable land. Additionally, these tracts are largely unimproved or include minimal improvement contribution.

The appraisal team at Peoples Company was able to track 94 tracts or 9,929.61 acres sold at public auction in Iowa during December 2023. The average dollar per acre was $12,104, the average dollar per tillable acre was $14,085, and the average dollar per CSR2 was $180.

What are good farming practices and why are they important? The Federal crop insurance program covers losses that are unavoidable and due to naturally occurring events. The program does not cover losses due to negligence, or any failure to follow good farming practices.

Beginning January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) will officially go into effect, which requires additional reporting obligations on U.S. entities and foreign entities doing business in the United States to provide beneficial ownership information to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). Congress established that the general intent of the CTA is to prevent illicit activities, including money laundering, financing terrorism, tax fraud, and other harmful activities related to national security interests, from occurring through the use of entity schemes. The CTA applies to any corporation, limited liability company, or other similar entity (limited partnership; limited liability partnership; limited liability limited partnership) that files an application (e.g., Certificate of Organization/Incorporation filed with the Secretary of State) under the laws of a State or Indian tribe, subject to certain exemptions. As a result, the CTA will impose the reporting burden on many farmers, landowners, and other industry professionals.

After reading yet another negative headline on the $20 trillion commercial real estate (CRE) market, I was reminded of the investment characteristic I once assumed the CRE market shared with the $4 trillion farmland market.

You don’t have to look far to find headlines highlighting the high entry costs of farming. For each of those headlines, another one can be found pointing to the issues of the aging American farmer and a “sidelined” next generation waiting for their opportunity to step in. A 65-year-old farmer has faced a lot of challenges in their lifetime from weather volatility and the 1980s farm crisis to the more recently rising cost of capital. There’s no question that they have earned their spot at the head of the operation.

Peoples Company, a full-service land transaction and management business, today announced the hires of Thiago Lima and Tommy Funk, continuing the company’s national expansion. Lima will oversee Peoples Company’s farm management in Florida, Georgia and Alabama and work alongside Peoples Company’s brokerage team. Funk will focus on Texas and Oklahoma, with an emphasis on land management and land acquisition.