AgWired

The recent 83rd Annual Meeting and Trade Show of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and AgroNomics Conference & Trade Show held in Indianapolis, Ind. saw the election of the group’s new president. Paul Joerger, AFM, grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and now is the Director of Asset Management and a vice president with John Hancock in Boston. He said he is honored and looking forward to serving the members of ASFMRA.

“There’s a lot of help around here… a lot of talent, and I think we have a lot of things to accomplish,” he said. Joerger added that, as with any organization, keeping and maintaining membership is a key to success. “We have some infrastructure that we need to develop to better allow us to mine and manage our membership. If 10 people took one class last year, and this next class would be a good fit for them, it’s easy to send an email to the folks saying, ‘Hey, please consider this.'”

Joerger is also a big advocate of the Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers accreditation program and what it means to practitioners of their craft. “It’s recognition in the marketplace that those who have taken accreditation have taken time and effort to try to be one step above our commitment to our profession. It also puts us at a higher level of accountability and that we’re ready to accept and to share.” He said that once he received his accreditation, he found even more satisfaction by teaching others.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Paul here: Interview with Paul Joerger, AFM, new president of ASFMRA

2012 Agronomics Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the ASFMRA Agronomics Conference is sponsored by Halderman Farm Management.

The election was a big topic of discussion at the recent 83rd Annual Meeting and Trade Show of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and AgroNomics Conference & Trade Show held in Indianapolis, Ind. (And, frankly, where WASN’T the election a big topic of discussion?) During the show and just prior to last night’s results, Chuck caught up with Merrill Swanson, a partner with the appraisal firm Dugger, Canaday, Grafe, Inc. out of San Antonio, Texas, and he said they were already feeling the effects of the election even before any ballots were cast.

“Much of our work applies to estate planning work, and with the tax law changes coming up, our firm has been extremely busy with estate planning appraisals of farms and ranches,” he said, highlighting that the end of the $5 million lifetime exemption ending on December 31st, has a lot of land owners are scrambling to get things in order. That includes a lot of sales with owners trying to beat that deadline. Swanson added that’s what makes networking at an event like the ASFMRA conference so important.

“Trends happen earlier some places than others,” he said, pointing out that land prices are at an all-time high in the Midwest with some Iowa farms going for as much as $10,000-$20,000 an acre. And those rising prices are lifting values all over the country as well. Plus with those changes in values and the pending estate taxes changes, they have their fill of work and won’t give any more appraisal reports until after the first of the New Year. He added the uncertainties of what will happen with all taxes and a lack of a farm bill now are prompting a lot of movement in the land appraisal business.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Merrill here: Interview with Merrill Swanson, a partner with Dugger, Canaday, Grafe, Inc.

2012 Agronomics Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the ASFMRA Agronomics Conference is sponsored by Halderman Farm Management.

A common problem you hear in farm circles is “Where are we going to get the next generation of producers?” That’s certainly also on the mind of the leadership at the recent 83rd Annual Meeting and Trade Show of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and AgroNomics Conference & Trade Show held in Indianapolis, Ind.

Jim Rickert, the incoming president for ASFMRA and a farm manager and rural appraiser, along with with wife and son in Northeastern California, says he’s trying to look to the future of where his 85-year-old organization is headed, as well as the aging farm producer population.

“We have a great demand for the services we have, but in the immediate future, we’re going to need to replace ourselves. We need to find young people to participate in our profession,” said Rickert.

To that end, Rickert said they’re getting more connected with university ag programs and explain those opportunities to young people, as well as challenging current ASFMRA members to bring in young people to the field. He added the new generation is bringing in new technology and ideas, as Rickert pointed to an example of how a group of young people, talking at a coffee shop, came up with a new way to do crop insurance by doing statistical models.

Rickert said he’s looking forward to the next conference next year, November 11-15, at the Peppermill Resort, in Reno, Nevada… although he doubts too many folks in his business, who already roll the dice in their everyday jobs will be looking to gamble there.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Jim here: Interview with Jim Rickert, incoming ASFMRA president

2012 Agronomics Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the ASFMRA Agronomics Conference is sponsored by Halderman Farm Management.