SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2019 — The U.S. Land Broker Cooperative (the Co-Op) and AcreValue have announced a partnership to enhance the exposure of land listings across the United States for landowners, farmers and their partners.

AcreValue is an online land intelligence platform used by farmers, landowners, investors, bankers, brokers, and other industry professionals to analyze the value and productive capacity of farmland across the 48 contiguous states. AcreValue is a digital solution from Granular, an ag software company focused on making farming more efficient and profitable, while also preserving and enhancing the value of farmland.

“This relationship is a win-win for everyone watching, buying, or selling in the land market,” said LeeAnn Moss, Director of Industry Marketing for AcreValue.”Our site has over 300,000 unique monthly visitors, many of whom are looking for land to purchase, or data on land that’s selling in their area. They will now have access to thousands of land listings on AcreValue from hundreds of brokers across the U.S., updated daily, provided to us by the Co-Op. This makes our site even more of a one-stop shop for our customers’ needs.”

The Co-Op, created in 2018, was organized by a group of professional farm, ranch, and land brokers who saw an opportunity to better serve the needs of the rural real estate brokerage community. The mission of the Co-Op is to provide member services on a cost-competitive basis while also protecting personal and professional data. It is broker/agent owned and offers equal voice to all members, group buying power, and shared participation in profits. With exposure to over 2 million users and soon to be added 65,000+ active listings, the Co-Op is exhibiting phenomenal growth.

“Our newly-released map search tool on www.landbrokermls.com demonstrates our focus on an improved land shopping experience without commercial advertising. AcreValue seemed like a natural partner for us with their philosophy on helping landowners and farmers get information on land they own or rent, as well as information on potential acquisitions to expand their investment portfolios or farming operations. We see ourselves as a major innovator in the brokerage community, while AcreValue is a major innovator in farmland data and land intelligence,” said David Light, Chief Development Officer and Founder at Open Fences Media.

Both organizations are excited to continue building upon their shared commitment to provide creative technology solutions to help landowners and their partners (e.g., brokers) get the information and opportunities that they need in an online, advertisement-free, and functional search environment.

For more information on The Land Broker Cooperative, please contact:

Deeta Tsakrios | Member Relations Manager | deetra@landbrokercoop.com | 208-681-7709

For more information on AcreValue and Granular, please contact:

Amy Lazenby | VP of Marketing | amylazenby@granular.ag | 949-419-5997

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Granular is an agriculture software company dedicated to building stronger and more profitable farms. With web and mobile apps grounded in advanced data science technology, Granular helps farmers make data-driven, real-time business and agronomic decisions with greater confidence. Granular is an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP).

The Land Broker Cooperative (the Co-Op) is pleased to announce the first website for land, farms and ranches for sale using a map-based view as the primary search functionality.

TEXAS, October 15, 2018 — The U.S. Land Broker Cooperative (the Co-Op) formally released its proprietary map-based web-search tool on www.landbrokermls.com. This new functionality was developed in conjunction with TerraStride Pro, which is the Co-Op’s preferred mapping partner. TerraStride Pro and Co-Op team members worked together to provide this cutting-edge software solution that powers a next generation, map-based property search view as a means to allow greater visibility and ease of use.

“Our industry-leading map-search functionality was developed in part due to growing enrollment in the Co-Op and the ever-changing needs and demands of the real estate industry,” says George Clift, Co-op member/owner.

The mapping solution was seamlessly integrated into www.landbrokermls.com, providing searchers with direct access to broker properties in a format that is intuitive, easily accessible and simple to use. The Co-Op’s philosophy of user experience over profitability allows the Co-Op to offer buyers and sellers an improved land shopping experience without commercial advertising, a feature that is sure to drive traffic to the website.

The Co-Op was created in 2018 by a group of professional farm, ranch and land brokers who recognized the changes taking place in the industry and the importance of an organization focused on serving the needs of the rural real estate brokerage community. These include reaching a target audience and providing member services on a cost-competitive basis while allowing protection of personal and professional data. The Co-Op is broker/agent-owned and offers equal voice to all members, group buying power, and shared participation in profits.

For those unsatisfied with a real estate advertising monopoly the Co-Op helps foster change, as every broker/agent who joins the Co-Op shares equal ownership and holds a unique voice. The Co-Op strives to combat steep rises in digital advertising prices, losses of privacy and control of data, and other factors which continue to increase costs for all participants in the rural real estate industry. The Co-Op’s philosophy of equal ownership and voice for all, without pricing smaller offices out of the market, is beneficial for everyone involved.

The Co-Op continues to be an industry leader not only with technology, but forward-thinking partnerships with the most influential brands and honest, hard-working members. The new map-based search functionality is the most recent result of the Co-Op’s management and founders’ agile and creative thinking processes.

For more information on The Land Broker Cooperative please contact:

Deetra Tsakrios | Member Relations Manager

deetra@landbrokercoop.com | 208-681-7709

I am a big fan of old western movies. Regardless of the movie, either a cowboy or the 7th Cavalry always came to the rescue at the last moment to save the day. Predictably, one of my favorite actors is John Wayne. Whether he was chasing the bad guys in the old west, defending the Alamo, winning the Civil War, fighting the Japanese at the Battle of Midway or fighting our enemies at D Day, he always seemed to come to the rescue. That’s what I loved about him and I always wished that in some way, I could do the same.

Well, now I can. I may not be saving Shinbone from Liberty Valance or Europe during WW2 but I can come to the rescue when a property owner is going to sell a property that will create a large tax liability. That works for me. And for you.

When selling a great property, you can either pay taxes on the gains or transact a 1031 exchange to defer taxes. The first isn’t a good option and the second is not always appropriate or has limitations to be completed.

But here is where I come to the rescue. There are numerous ways to defer taxes using the next generation of 1031s. Our Section 453 tax deferral strategies have a 20-year track record of successfully deferring taxes between 2000-2500 times with the largest transaction being $120 million with a tax deferral of $50 million.

If someone wants to transact a 1031 exchange and can complete it that’s great. To be on the safe side, we can guarantee that if a 1031 fails, the sales proceeds will NOT be sent to the seller which now creates a large tax liability but rather that taxes will be deferred, and the client now has unlimited time to find a replacement property.

Consider the following examples.

One of the main limitations in an exchange are the 45 and 180-day time periods. Supply of real estate properties can be elastic.   Sometimes there is a great supply of replacement properties and sometimes there isn’t. What if there were no time constraints to have to deal with.

What if you could sell a property today, defer taxes today and have unlimited time to find a great replacement property. Would that work? Absolutely.

But let’s take that thought to the next level. When transacting a 1031, you buy low and sell high but because of the 45-day period, you may have to buy high when market conditions may be less than favorable to your buyers. What if after you sold high, you had unlimited time to buy again so you could wait until market conditions became more favorable to buyers. Would that work?  Absolutely. And even better, while your buyer is waiting for market conditions to become more favorable, we will pay him a cash flow of 5-6% while he waits. So, using the next generation of 1031 s, you can buy low, sell high and buy better.

Say you have 4 owners of a property and all the owners want you to list their property BUT 2 of the owners want to take their proceeds and run to Vegas…not necessarily a bad strategy and the other 2 want to defer their taxes. Until you get everyone on the same page, you can’t list the property. Get your paperwork ready. The 2 that want to take the money and run can do so and the 2 that want to defer taxes can use our proprietary trust to do so. You get the listing and you owe me lunch. Preferably in Vegas.

Say that there is a property owner that has had a property in the family for 50,60,70 years and longer. He would like to sell but almost the entire sale will be capital gains and depending on where he is domiciled, taxes can range from roughly 25-40% so instead of selling, he decides to keep the property until he passes on and then his kids get the property with the stepped basis.

That’s not a bad strategy for everyone but you because you now can’t sell the property. Instead, what if you could explain to the prospect that you can sell today, defer taxes today, move closer to the grandkids today and receive a higher retirement income than if he sells and pays taxes first. And he can do all of this while alive.

You have a client that has transacted 1031 exchanges for decades and now that he has accumulated wealth, he would like to sell and retire. Unfortunately, he now has to sell and use the basis of the first property to determine taxes and the tax bill will be a whopper.

What if you have a 1031 Exit Strategy. That’s right. By using our trust, he can sell his property and defer taxes for the rest of his life and into the next generation if he chooses to do so.  By deferring taxes, he can enjoy the fruits of his labor by receiving a larger retirement income than if he would have sold and paid taxes first. You are his new best friend.

One last idea. Say that you come across someone that has a high end primary residential property and they want to sell. However, the sale will create a large tax liability to the sellers. You can sell their residence, defer taxes using our trust and help them buy another property any time in the future. That’s a great deal for them and you made a new friend.

These are just a few of our tax deferral strategies so call me so I can come to your rescue. John Wayne would be proud. It shows True Grit. I can’t believe that I typed that. Until the next time, Happy Selling.

David Fisher is the managing partner at Creative Real Estate Strategies, a national firm that specializes in deferring taxes in situations where a 1031 isn’t appropriate or can’t be completed. He can be reached at 713-702-6401 or david@cresknowsrealestate.com

Membership Continues to Rise as Farm, Ranch & Land Brokers Find Value and Opportunity in CO-OP Ownership

[Texas – July 2, 2018] The Land Broker Cooperative (“The Co-Op”), www.landbrokermls.com, is actively acquiring new member-owners who desire to take back control of the current rural real estate advertising industry. Since the formal announcement in March 2018 during the Realtors Land Institute national meeting in Nashville, TN, The Co-Op has e ngaged real estate brokers across the country who have been unsatisfied with the current advertising monopoly in the industry; a steep rise in digital advertising prices, and loss of privacy and control of data have created a disadvantage to smaller and single-agent real estate offices across rural America. In some cases pricing them out of the marketplace.

In response, several rural real estate Brokers/Agents have developed The Co-Op, a formal cooperative organizational structure that holds true the values and ideals shared by farm, ranch & land brokers. The Co-Op is both owned and managed by licensed Brokers/Agents. Every Broker/Agent who joins shares equal ownership and holds a unique voice.

Cooperative priorities include:

• Membership limited to Licensed Brokers/Agents
• All Members have one share, one equal vote
• Data ownership and control
• Digital marketing costs controlled
• Discounts from cooperative marketing relationships
• Plans will include discounted E&O and other insurance member benefits
• Profit sharing through dividend distributions to member-owners

With strength in numbers, the Co-Op will endeavor to add discounts and advantages in relevant markets that cater to the rural land and country living lifestyle. Through the strength and effectiveness of its buying powers, Co-Op members will benefit from competitive prices in print publications in key industry publications and websites.

“The Co-Op gives the power of information back to the land brokers,” said Dan Murphy, M4 Ranch Group Broker and President of the Co-Op. “It’s important for our brokers and agents to have control of their listings and their budget. Flexibility and choice have always been important in a marketing strategy; no one wants their entire budget tied up in one place. It’s an important time to embrace this concept.”

“Cooperatives have been the foundation of rural America business for more than a century,” said Managing Broker Bart Miller of Mason & Morse Ranch Company and a Founding Member. “An organization of people with common business interests, high principles and a need to manage their industry in a time when large corporations are increasingly in control of the market space and pricing is important for our industry. Inevitably this leads brokers to service their clients more effectively.”

The Land Broker Cooperative was created in 2018 by a group of professional farm, ranch & land brokers who recognized the importance of serving the needs of the rural real estate brokerage community. These include reaching a target audience and providing services on a cost-competitive basis while allowing you to protect personal and professional data. This broker/agent-owned cooperative offers an equal voice to all members, group buying power and shared participation in any profits.

For more information on The Land Broker Cooperative please contact:
Deetra Tsakrios | Member Relations Manager
deetra@landbrokercoop.com | 208-681-7709

Over the last year, the landscape has changed in the world of digital marketing for the rural real estate industry. Taking action, a group of concerned brokers nationwide are working together to proactively to develop an answer: A Cooperative Association for rural land brokers and agents built to:

Return buying power to the brokers and agents
Retain ownership of personal and professional information
Focus on quality of leads through targeted advertising

Ask yourself:

• Are you content to raise your marketing budget without additional benefits?
• Are you content being priced out of advertising because your smaller firm has limited funds?
• Are you content to hand over ownership of your information in exchange for an online presence?
• What’s next?

An opportunity now exists to level the playing field.
Welcome to a new website built to serve its members.

Welcome to a group built for brokers, by brokers.

Welcome to The Co-op.
Every Broker/Agent who joins the Co-op shares equal ownership and holds a unique voice; they are also represented by a board consisting entirely of Member Brokers. Priorities include:

• Membership Limited to Licensed Brokers/Agents
• All Members have One Share, One Vote
• Uncompromised Data Ownership and Control
• Digital Marketing Costs Controlled Through Competition
• Discounts from Cooperative Marketing Relationships
• Plans Include Discounted E&O and other Member Benefits

Imagine a centralized website where you not only retain sole ownership of your data, but also are assured a steady source of quality, carefully targeted Internet traffic and consistent affordability without the year-to-year contracts or surprises at renewal.
LandBrokerMLS.com offers a modern layout and interface, strong viewership and relevance as well as current MLS backend capabilities. But most importantly, it focuses on the points central to a brokerage’s success: closing deals. Millions of views, thousands of likes and hundreds of comments mean nothing if a property remains unsold. One call leading to a closing is more valuable than any amount of web traffic.
In this way, LandBrokerMLS.com seeks not to win the numbers game, but the sales game. The Co-op website does not want the MOST views or properties, but the most RELEVANT. Quality exposure is more valuable than Facebook likes.
Co-op members will benefit from the strength and effectiveness of its media buying power and seek to “target smarter” in the relevant markets that cater to the rural land and country living lifestyle.
In 2018, the Co-op hands the power of information BACK to the Land Brokers.

Hall and Hall Auctions

Winners of the 2014 National Auctioneers Association/USA TODAY Marketing Competition have been announced, with “The Auction Marketing Campaign of the Year” being awarded to Hall and Hall Auctions for the Hager Farm & Ranches Absolute Auction campaign, which helped lead to a $46+ million total sale and land price records being established in two counties.

Hall and Hall Auctions also won first place in the Company Promotional Video category, thanks to Aerial Imaging Productions, and second place in the Multi-Property Real Estate Auction category for O’Dell Auctions.

The task of determining winners was given to a panel of marketing and advertising professionals, all of which have backgrounds in branding, promotion, public relations and graphic design. Judging criteria included considerations such as creativity, effectiveness, clarity and visual appeal.

On March 3rd Hall and Hall Auctions had approximately 125 people in attendance at its Kansas farm and ranch auction in Colby, KS, with 52 registered bidders. The auction totaled $10,764,300 on 7,600 acres of Northwest Kansas properties. There were 800+ irrigated acres, seven pivots, 3,330+ dryland farm acres, and over 3,000 acres of pasture offered in 12 tracts.

“The was a very good example of Hall and Hall’s marketing program and the technology we bring to auction day for a successful event,” said Scott Shuman of Hall and Hall Auctions.”

Field Sport Concepts’ expertise is in the development and implementation of plans which conserve open lands through environmentally sound recreational use. We believe that land which sustains itself by producing income as open space today is land most likely to remain open space for generations to come. This post is the second in a series from Field Sport Concepts Affiliate Sonja Howle of Famous Barns.

As you explore the architecture of San Antonio and Texas, one name comes up again and again. Alfred Giles. Giles was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England in 1853 and after years of architectural study in London, he moved to San Antonio in 1873. Many of the state’s most remarkable county court houses were designed by Giles; his work is showcased at Fort Sam Houston’s Military Base, in Officers’ Quarters, Barracks and the famous Quadrangle. He built mansions, carriage houses and commercial structures throughout Texas and Mexico, since he also had an office in Monterrey.

In 1885 he purchased a 13,000 acre ranch in Kendall County with his brother-in-law and partner Judge John Herndon James. They bred registered Aberdeen-Angus cattle and angora goats. They called the place Hillingdon Ranch.

Remarkably, 129 years and six generations later, the ranch is still owned by the Giles descendants and remains a working ranch.

David Langford, Alfred’s great-grandson,

lives there and is well-respected as a wildlife, western life and landscape photographer. He has not only won awards for his photographs in the Images for Conservation Fund competitions but he’s hosted photographers at Hillingdon Ranch as well. His career in photography is as significant as his lifetime commitment to conservation.

David and his family learned stewardship first-hand. They understand elements like the water cycle, soil regeneration, plant succession and the vital role of open spaces in everything from flood control to carbon sequestration.

His public service has involved over two decades as an Executive Vice President of the Texas Wildlife Association. (He is currently vice president emeritus). His efforts and those of that group ensured access to an invaluable tool to help rural landowners: the “wildlife management property tax valuation.” This allowed the land owner options with their resources: hunting, birding, wildlife and nature tourism, and it created a new level of stewardship.

David is in the middle of a book-signing tour for “Hillingdon Ranch, Four Seasons, Six Generations.” His new book illustrates the diversity and depth of his family’s Kendall County Ranch. And for my friends in the San Antonio area, David will be at the Patrick Heath Public Library in Boerne for a book signing during the Local Author Bookfest on March 1, 2014. I’ll stop by and say Hi – may see you there.

For more, contact Sonja Howle at Famous Barns and Robert McKee at Field Sport Concepts

(Idaho) John Knipe, President of Knipe Land Company, has been selected to speak at the upcoming Annual Cattleman’s Convention.

This year’s National Cattle and Beef Council Annual Meetings and Convention will be February 3-5 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Knipe will speak at 1:00 pm on February 5, 2014. This is the beef cattle industry’s largest event with close to 10,000 ranchers, farmers,

and landowners are expected to attend this year’s National Cattle and Beef Council Annual Meetings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Our “Kick off to Dallas Safari Club” party was well attended. The Beretta Gallery in Highland Park is a wonderful place to hold a get together. 162 people attended and it went off without a hitch. The door prizes consisted on a Yamaha Grizzly 550, a trip for two to Laurentian Wildlife Estate in Canada, a selection of clothing from Beretta, a swag bag from the Yellowstone Club and a custom knife set from Lone Star Ag Credit. Thanks to all who attended and Covey Rise Magazine for all the help. I look forward to next year, same place same time!

Off to Vegas for SCI Feb 5th – 8th Booth 502 main floor!

Beretta Gallery Dallas party.

The Dallas Safari Club was a great success. We meet many readers and advertisers alike. Looking forward to SCI in Vegas on the 5th – 8th. Come see us on the main floor booth 502. The booth will be full on Custom Covers from the winter issue.