Needing some group thearapy.

[JPH]

You know what they say, ( all good things come to an end ), how true.
Would it be worth approching the family about purchasing the property? It would sure be nice to turn the tables on that farmer.

Actually I approached Pat with this question years ago, when she was sharp as a tack. Her reply was very direct. She looked right at me and said, "Joe, you can't outbid the hunting preserve." She was right and I appreciated her honesty. It lead me to buy the place I did in Missouri.

Pat has played hard to get but her plan is solid. She is going to ride this thing out as long as she can and stay in the home she and her husband lived in until they drag her out, but her kids are going to get a nice fat check when the hunting preserve finally buys it. Good for her!

By the way Charlie, you are from Illinois right? The big shot that bought my friend's place was bragging that good hunting ground there is going for $5,000-$6,000 an acre and that he plans to flip the farm in a few years and make a mint when Iowa follows suit. Sadly, I think he's right.

Folks, we all have to do what we have to do, buy. lease, whatever, but we'd better all use our voices and our votes to protect public hunting, or we are a dying breed.

[luvhuntin]

The big shot that bought my friend's place was bragging that good hunting ground there is going for $5,000-$6,000 an acre and that he plans to flip the farm in a few years and make a mint when Iowa follows suit. Sadly, I think he's right.

Folks, we all have to do what we have to do, buy. lease, whatever, but we'd better all use our voices and our votes to protect public hunting, or we are a dying breed.

You could not be more correct JPH. while doing some google searches for land I came across an article from 2011 about huge investment firms that are buying every farm they can get their hands on not only in the midwest but all over the world to hegde against what could come of our countries and other economies economic problems. even the harvard university endowment is doing it!
sheesh and i thought the guy down the street who had the same dreams as i was my biggest competition! depressing story to say the least.They may be creating a huge bubble though and that is a scary thought when deer hunting is taken out of the picture.

At least the state has 356,000 acres of public ground to hunt already or i`d be in big trouble. I`d love to lease some ground and the going rate for most of those are reasonable, but i`d rather hold on to the money i have and purchase something instead. good luck on your search.

[Woods Walker]

Ag ground prices are high because of the ethanol market, which is a trumped up, government funded boondoggle. When that crashes the price of cropland will crash with it. Those speculators who are sharp enough will unload it while the "gittin's still good".

Watch them. They are the rats in the coal mine.

[Cut N Run]

Sorry to hear you lost your hunting land JPH. At least it was good to you when you had it. Plus, the owner didn't intentionally screw you out of it. Wish I could say the same.

The property I have hunted the past decade is a tree farm owned by a so-called friend of mine. I have worked his property and spent too much of my free time making it the best place to hunt I can think of. I helped clear trails, build stands, build a cabin, cut trees, plow, plant, haul rocks & stumps, dig, burn, bale, and build anything that needed doing out there. I worked so hard there that I developed a hernia last winter. I scheduled surgery, but had promised one of the horse farm owners near home that I would cut some new horse trails for her before I went under the knife. I had double hernia surgery in February and was restricted in what I could do for 8 weeks after that. I had to hire help for a couple of months to help me keep up with my regular job.

I called the tree farm owner about seeing what he needed done and he didn't return any of my calls. I called him to ask about turkey hunting his land and he never returned my calls then either. Never mind that I taught him everything he knows about turkey hunting. I found out that he'd leased the land to another hunter, so I was shut out. It probably wouldn't have hurt as much to get kicked in the groin. Live and learn I guess.

I always heard that when one door closes, another one opens. Even though it is farther away, I recently got rights to hunt 600 acres owned by a guy I have known for over 30 years who is not looking for his own personal slave like the tree farm owner was.

Hang in there, Joe. I hope the best for you finding new places to hunt. Keep after it.

Jim

[Ohio farms]

Sorry to hear that you lost access to that land Cut. Often you have talked about it and I could see in your words the pride that you took in it. There is something different about land than other possessions.

[JPH]

Yeah, that really hurts, Cut-n-run.

The whole lease idea is growing on me. Not the idea of leasing out from under someone, mind you, but if a landowner is looking for a way to earn income and a hunter is looking for exclusive hunting rights with no drama. You get a contract and they get cash. I realize that there are pitfalls there too, but it seems cleaner than a lot of the things I've seen.

Thoughts?

[Sierra]

I am curious about this lease thing. What does one typically expect to pay to lease land for hunting purposes? Just wondering a range I guess.

[JPH]

Well, I'll be able to tell you more this time next year because I just purchased a lease with some partners. I honestly think this piece of property is going to be as good, if not better than the place I just lost and it's closer to home. Yes, it's coming out of my pocket, but my contribution to the partnership is not much more than than the cost of a new bow or rifle. In the end I decided that was worth the piece of mind that comes from exclusive access via contract.

The going rate for prime ground in Iowa is generally $20 per acre. That being said, some farms go higher. Working through a lease broker will also bump your costs slightly but they come with insurance and well established procedures regarding negotiations and contracts.

[Sierra]

Well, I'll be able to tell you more this time next year because I just purchased a lease with some partners. I honestly think this piece of property is going to be as good, if not better than the place I just lost and it's closer to home. Yes, it's coming out of my pocket, but my contribution to the partnership is not much more than than the cost of a new bow or rifle. In the end I decided that was worth the piece of mind that comes from exclusive access via contract.

The going rate for prime ground in Iowa is generally $20 per acre. That being said, some farms go higher. Working through a lease broker will also bump your costs slightly but they come with insurance and well established procedures regarding negotiations and contracts.

Interesting. I will keep that in the back of my mind in case anything happens with the land I have permission to hunt now. Though, I would need others to go in with me of course, and not knowing anyone that hunts is a problem. Thanks for the info.