Stamp Farms

[bitty]

The biggest BTO in our area is the guv ( crep ) and they are majorly bankrupt .... but that's a whole different story

good one!

Troy... I am not really joking , its a serious matter. They rent 4 plus times what the next biggest BTO does in this county

[Reichow7120]

The biggest BTO in our area is the guv ( crep ) and they are majorly bankrupt .... but that's a whole different story

What is CREP? Are you referring to the Conservation Reserve Program? (CRP is what we call it around here.) I hope I don't sound too stupid by asking this question.

[bitty]

Reichlow 7120, yes , crep has rented complete farms all around here for 4-10 times the normal rental rates. Used to be crp in 80-90's

[TroyDairy]

In E wa dry land area CREP (CRP) pays more cash rent than the wheat guys can pencil. Then the govt send FSA agents to try to help young guys get started........and they are holding the land that the young guys needs to join the family back at the farm.

[ChrisNY]

I hear you bitty, we lost 200 acres last year to the government for a migratory bird program. Wasn't great ground but wasn't bad, we were paying $70/acre rent which was all it was worth and the government was paying $135/acre. No brainer for the landlord but still irritating

[Reichow7120]

Thanks bitty for answering my question.

May I ask you and Troy Dairy another question? What type of ground is enrolled in the program. Is it decent farm ground or is it highly erodable ground? On the farm I own is a 12 acre field that is one hilly PITA that borders the neighbors hilly land. We asked about CRP for it. It turned out you had to enroll a minimum of 40 acres. To get that amount we would have had to put a few good producing fields in to make that amount. So we decided against it. It doesn't do well with row crops, it's highly erodable, the only thing it seems to do well with is alfalfa. That's what's in it right now. This works fine as long as we still have cattle. If we get out of cattle we will have to figure out what the H### were going to do with the blasted field. (Which sometimes I think is in the realm of possibilty). So I'm not entirely against CRP, though I think it should be truly steered towards the land that is truly crap ground and the best thing for it is to leave it be.

It's interesting reading your post about all the CRP land in your area. Around my neck of the woods it went the other way. A lot of CRP land was put back into production during the last 5 or 6 years. I can think of only 1 piece that is still in and it would take a small fortune to clean it up to be farmed again. In my opinion a couple of pieces should have never been pulled out. The neighbor's land next to mine is definitely a prime candidate in my opinion. It's farmed but doesn't really produce much. It's hilly, highly erodable, the soil on it has a very interesting history to it that not too many people want anything to do with it if they know where it came from. ( that dirt was not originally there and I can elaborate more if you want me to). In my opinion it should been left alone. I know a few of you will disagree with me but sometimes land is just to crappy to farm. But you get taxed for it all the same so you need to make it earn in some fashion. Here is where CRP should be steered towards.

[bitty]

Almost all ground around here is highly erodible. If no HEL is farmed there will be huge food shortages worldwide. We have 65% corn to hay. All no till and I have to meet certain circumstances to keep that much corn

[TroyDairy]

Here it is often along water ways to save the fish. Of course they cannot prove amy of the trees and etc have done even a iota for the fish!

[TroyDairy]

Oh...in e wa its big tracts of dryland farm ground. Stuff the older guy was tired of working and the Man gave him more than he made so it's gone. BUddy over there says his family needs more but the govt has 1000 of acres tied up for more than he can grow a crop on. He'd ove it since he could pencil a cash rent deal but not for as much as the man is paying

[Reichow7120]

Thanks for your answers bitty.

I guess some some of my problem stems from the land next door. I'll elaborate on the situation. This is extremely hilly ground. Like there are places too steep to safely operate a tractor without it flipping over. My 12 acres is bad, the neighbors is worse and it is leveler than it originally was. The owner of that land worked for Kelsey/Hayes - Albion which was a very large foundry that cast car parts. Well we all know that the molds used to dump the liquid iron into are made of sand. You can only use the sand so much before you have to change it out. Ever wonder what happens to that used sand. I don't, in this case the owner I mentioned above worked out a deal for the foundry to dump all that foundry core sand on his land in a attempt to level it out. According to Dad this went on almost continuous for 5 or 6 years straight. He says there are places out in them fields that that foundry sand is anywhere from 30 to 50 foot deep and god knows how wide and this is farm wide. I vaguely remember seeing the bulldozers and dump trucks dumping there when I was a small child, 5 or 6 at the most. This would have been the very late 80's/very early 90's time frame.

All this proceeded to do was make a crap farm and make it MUCH WORSE. Those of you that have never dealt with foundry sand don't know what your missing. Picture what you see in pictures of steel mills being hauled out in sand form. There is a oil that gets in that sand as they use it in the foundry. Well they dump that dirt, well it doesn't absorb water worth a DA&*. The water just runs to the lowest spot. That old adage "S@$! Rolls down hill" applies here. Well I have a 40 acre field that butts up to them. Guess who's down hill. I now have a nice 3 acre pond on the east headland that wasn't there before. When the farm was in grass we didn't have this problem, it cropped up when it started being worked for crops. YEAH I'm just a little PO ed. That dirt is now considered a hazardous waste so it would cost a fortune to clean up and there is so much of it dumped here they would never be able to clean it all up. The foundry that dumped the sand went bankrupt 13 years ago so any cleanup on the taxpayer dime. That now closed foundry will probably be S$@#ing on me the rest of my life. I truly feel that some land is too crappy to farm and should be left alone. There are a number of these dump sites throughout the area and the same problems have arose with them too. Yeah I'm a tad bit bitter about the whole situation. I'm screwed pretty much sums it up. This is where my stance stems from. If it was still in CRP I wouldn't have near the problems we have now. Sorry some of you don't agree but put yourself in my shoes. I through with my rant now.

[bitty]

Here it is often along water ways to save the fish. Of course they cannot prove amy of the trees and etc have done even a iota for the fish!

Almost all around here is full tracts of farm ground , not just buffer strips

[littletom]

Thousands of acres around here. One thousand acre farm up the rd. Some is good ground some is not. A lot would be pasture but lot would be crop ground. They have to enroll for 15 years here. Only way out is if owner dies or they buy it out. It looks like like crap it is crep but most call it the crap program. It has helped the deer and made land leases higher. Me or my family don't have any and thankful. Here the have to bushhog it everyother year. If we have a big drought they let them cut it for hay. IMHO a huge waste of or tax money!

[TroyDairy]

It is a tax waste for sure.

[mader656]

I heard it's getting harder to get land into crep. Here at least. Good way to cut government if you ask me. Makes no sense for decent land to be growing bunnies and snakes.

[Atilathehun99]

Thanks bitty for answering my question.

May I ask you and Troy Dairy another question? What type of ground is enrolled in the program. Is it decent farm ground or is it highly erodable ground? On the farm I own is a 12 acre field that is one hilly PITA that borders the neighbors hilly land. We asked about CRP for it. It turned out you had to enroll a minimum of 40 acres. To get that amount we would have had to put a few good producing fields in to make that amount. So we decided against it. It doesn't do well with row crops, it's highly erodable, the only thing it seems to do well with is alfalfa. That's what's in it right now. This works fine as long as we still have cattle. If we get out of cattle we will have to figure out what the H### were going to do with the blasted field. (Which sometimes I think is in the realm of possibilty). So I'm not entirely against CRP, though I think it should be truly steered towards the land that is truly crap ground and the best thing for it is to leave it be.

It's interesting reading your post about all the CRP land in your area. Around my neck of the woods it went the other way. A lot of CRP land was put back into production during the last 5 or 6 years. I can think of only 1 piece that is still in and it would take a small fortune to clean it up to be farmed again. In my opinion a couple of pieces should have never been pulled out. The neighbor's land next to mine is definitely a prime candidate in my opinion. It's farmed but doesn't really produce much. It's hilly, highly erodable, the soil on it has a very interesting history to it that not too many people want anything to do with it if they know where it came from. ( that dirt was not originally there and I can elaborate more if you want me to). In my opinion it should been left alone. I know a few of you will disagree with me but sometimes land is just to crappy to farm. But you get taxed for it all the same so you need to make it earn in some fashion. Here is where CRP should be steered towards.

Thanks for your answers bitty.

I guess some some of my problem stems from the land next door. I'll elaborate on the situation. This is extremely hilly ground. Like there are places too steep to safely operate a tractor without it flipping over. My 12 acres is bad, the neighbors is worse and it is leveler than it originally was. The owner of that land worked for Kelsey/Hayes - Albion which was a very large foundry that cast car parts. Well we all know that the molds used to dump the liquid iron into are made of sand. You can only use the sand so much before you have to change it out. Ever wonder what happens to that used sand. I don't, in this case the owner I mentioned above worked out a deal for the foundry to dump all that foundry core sand on his land in a attempt to level it out. According to Dad this went on almost continuous for 5 or 6 years straight. He says there are places out in them fields that that foundry sand is anywhere from 30 to 50 foot deep and god knows how wide and this is farm wide. I vaguely remember seeing the bulldozers and dump trucks dumping there when I was a small child, 5 or 6 at the most. This would have been the very late 80's/very early 90's time frame.

All this proceeded to do was make a crap farm and make it MUCH WORSE. Those of you that have never dealt with foundry sand don't know what your missing. Picture what you see in pictures of steel mills being hauled out in sand form. There is a oil that gets in that sand as they use it in the foundry. Well they dump that dirt, well it doesn't absorb water worth a DA&*. The water just runs to the lowest spot. That old adage "S@$! Rolls down hill" applies here. Well I have a 40 acre field that butts up to them. Guess who's down hill. I now have a nice 3 acre pond on the east headland that wasn't there before. When the farm was in grass we didn't have this problem, it cropped up when it started being worked for crops. YEAH I'm just a little PO ed. That dirt is now considered a hazardous waste so it would cost a fortune to clean up and there is so much of it dumped here they would never be able to clean it all up. The foundry that dumped the sand went bankrupt 13 years ago so any cleanup on the taxpayer dime. That now closed foundry will probably be S$@#ing on me the rest of my life. I truly feel that some land is too crappy to farm and should be left alone. There are a number of these dump sites throughout the area and the same problems have arose with them too. Yeah I'm a tad bit bitter about the whole situation. I'm screwed pretty much sums it up. This is where my stance stems from. If it was still in CRP I wouldn't have near the problems we have now. Sorry some of you don't agree but put yourself in my shoes. I through with my rant now.

Sounds like the foundry owner worked out a sweet deal to get rid of his industrial waste. Now it's someone else's problem.

Your neighbor better hope the MDEQ doesn't catch wind of that waste disposal. Very likely it would end up being a Part 201 "Facility" subject to corrective action. Of course Albion being what it currently is as opposed to what it once was, I'm assuming that Kelsey/Hayes is now defunct and legally untouchable for their done deeds (thanks to the lobbyists and lawyers). In that case your neighbor on whose land the waste was deposited would now be on the hook and the former company sits Scott's free..

[1480x3]

I think they will be in IN this season if not already. Them Ceres guys got a farm about 4 mile from me & rumor is Boerson is the NEW tenant.

What about Lords....I thought they were doing Ceres Angola ground....

I think Lords was/is. Coffee shop talk, kinda like stuff on the net, must be true. The only thing for sure is everything is changing.

[randyr19]

I think Lords was/is. Coffee shop talk, kinda like stuff on the net, must be true. The only thing for sure is everything is changing.

Since Gro-Alliance is operating the former lords seed plant in Howe, IN I am not sure what all lords will be doing in the area. I think they were just farming the ground they had until the current leases expired, maybe that is the case with the Ceres ground.

Back to stamps situation, I believe we are all patiantlely waiting to hear what mike stamp himself will get charged with. It appears that everyone that has been charged so far has gotten off easy, hopefully that means they all threw mike stamp under the bus.

[BOBSIH856]

I think they will be in IN this season if not already. Them Ceres guys got a farm about 4 mile from me & rumor is Boerson is the NEW tenant.

What about Lords....I thought they were doing Ceres Angola ground....

I think Lords was/is. Coffee shop talk, kinda like stuff on the net, must be true. The only thing for sure is everything is changing.

Lords was renting/managing a farm owned by CERES and were paying a rumored $600/acre for irrigated ground. Will have to pay attention this spring to see if a different Tennant is farming the ground. CERES has a map of the farms they own on their site. CERES farms LLC owns 51,646 acres of land and are expanding.

[TroyDairy]

CERES OWNS 51k? And they are a investment group correct? In E WA insurance companies own big swaths of irrigated land. Several of the large vineyards and orchards are owned by insurance companies. Friend manages 2 orchards on the side for Prudential.

[BOBSIH856]

CERES OWNS 51k? And they are a investment group correct? In E WA insurance companies own big swaths of irrigated land. Several of the large vineyards and orchards are owned by insurance companies. Friend manages 2 orchards on the side for Prudential.

Land hedge fund. group of 255 investors. They have the cash and thats how theyre able to buy up land at auctions because a lot of farmers dont want all of the land and only want maybe a field or two. CERES goes in and buys it all up like reichow7120 explained in his post about the starr commonwealth land. The farm near my dads house was bought buy CERES couple farmers won bids on individual fields but then the auctioneer lumped all 360ish acres and CERES bought it all. Put new tag corner on big field moved old pivot to smaller field tore down old barns and cleared some trees. Lord seeds were renting the farm for seed corn. I'm guesing since CERES formed in 2007 hedge fund managers wanted to cash in on the increasing corn prices along with increasing land prices. Since CERES is based out of South Bend area Northwest IN and Southwest MI is where a lot of their land is and probably 100% is under irrigation. I wonder if the investor gets to write of his $250K (min bid to become part of CERES group) investment off as farm use or CERES since they own the land or do the Tennents get the write off. CERES will put up barns, bins, pivots sell timber, minerals and billboard space to improve the productivity of the farm/lands (and maximize/maintain ROI).

[TroyDairy]

Interesting model. I am wondering if a few of them parcels listed are investors. 20 ac and 40 ac fields seem like tiddly winks to a group like that. If I would put my 250k piece of ground in I wonder if I would become a member that way?

[BOBSIH856]

Troy, check out their website and you can see a map of all of their farms stamp farm is pinned. Parr Orland, Rice and King are close to where I live. I'm sure if you contact them they will get back with you. They are looking to expand westward. I'm going to ask a couple of my farmer friends about the king farm because I think Kings still farm it. Maybe a RP member near Sturgis or Bronson MI can chime in.

[thewaz1066]

if your talking about the farm at the corner of US12 and Plumb school rd.Boersens have farmed that the last two years.

[thewaz1066]

i need to clarify its the farm on the northwest corner.King farms are farming the northeast corner farm.

[BOBSIH856]

i need to clarify its the farm on the northwest corner.King farms are farming the northeast corner farm.

Thanks, last time I drove past the field back in Jan it looked like they were getting ready to do some work to the well.