News, Insights & Interviews Archive

Regardless of whether you believe that she was fired or transferred to another position, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is leaving her job, a change announced by President Donald Trump on social media Thursday. Although, President Trump announced the change after Noem’s performance this week at two congressional hearings where she faced questions about a $220 million ad campaign  (funded by taxpayers) that prominently featured her (that she claimed President

In the years ahead, America will need far more power generated than we currently produce. Our ever-increasing hunger for technology – and the power that it takes to operate that technology – demand it. Wind, solar, natural gas, coal and nuclear could be all among the options to produce some of that additional capacity. Data centers could be an integral part of the nation’s economy for the infrastructure to provide the storage, processing, internet, and distribution system to

You may think better trade deals are the answer, or you may believe that American presidents abandoned the concept of much higher tariffs decades ago because of the harm they can cause our country’s families. Either way, you know that the past year has been volatile and unpredictable. American agricultural producers now wait, most likely with little optimism, that the court system could deliver them refunds on the higher prices they paid because of President Donald Trump’s hi

Listen and subscribe on Spotify | Apple Podcasts The farmland may be paid off and generating income. But looming capital gains taxes can make a straight sale financially painful. Or maybe an heir isn’t so sure that owning a farm is really what he wants to do in the years ahead. That is where a 721 exchange could be an option. “We're one of the few firms that have ever done it or tried it in the farmland space,” said Ethan Branscum, Director of Investments at Sower Farmland, w

159.92+/- acres in Taney County, Missouri 16 tracts – Sold Absolute February 11, 2026 A diverse multi-tract development offering totaling 159.92± acres sold at live and online auction on February 11, 2026. The property was divided into 16 individual tracts strategically located in high-traffic areas of Branson, less than one mile from the Highway 76 strip. The tracts ranged from small commercial and residential lots under one acre to larger development parcels exceeding 40 ac

Photo Courtesy of Farmers National A 430-acre farm, located about 15 miles northeast of Springfield, Illinois, sold in a private transaction on January 29th for $7,224,672. While the $16,800 per-acre figure was considered strong for the area, the agent who handled the sale says the defining factor behind the competitive price was not just yield history or infrastructure — it was contiguity. “All 430 acres are in one contiguous tract,” said Max Hendrickson of Farmers National

Missed deadline led to another missed deadline, which is only fueling frustration from agricultural industry groups and farmers who keep waiting for the Trump administration and Congress to approve year-round sales of E15 fuel nationwide. Previously, both the Trump and the Biden administration have approved temporary E15 sales through the summer, bypassing decades-long restrictions that claimed smog concerns from the use of higher ethanol fuel over the summer months. But the

President Donald Trump is trying to protect glyphosate, one of the most widely used and effective herbicides. Meanwhile, Bayer is trying to protect its business interests by offering billions of dollars to settle a class action lawsuit that claims that Roundup is making people seriously ill. President Trump’s executive order  invoked the Defense Production Act to ensure continued U.S. production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, arguing that both are es

When an 86-year-old farmer along the Route 81 corridor in central Pennsylvania was offered roughly $60,000 an acre for his land, the math was staggering. At 261 acres, the total approached $15 million.

At a time when cattle ranchers are deciding whether to replenish herds and wondering how additional beef imports from Argentina will impact the market, they are reading headlines about what investigators say has been massive fraud by a company based in Fort Worth, Texas, that collected more than $220 million. The new development is the latest in a series since 2023 that alleged improprieties by Agridime LLC. This Fort Worth Star-Telegram article   has more on the background

Agricultural land values in the Midwest increased in 2025, reversing a modest decline the previous year, according to the latest   from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s AgLetter. The quarterly publication, written by economists with the Chicago Fed, analyzes agricultural land values and credit conditions across the bank’s Seventh District, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The findings are based on responses from agricultural bankers who co

Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts Farms are getting bigger, and there are fewer farms each year. Those changes have taken place over a number of years. But Dennis Reyman, Partner at Stalcup Agricultural Services in Storm Lake, Iowa, said one factor remains constant in a constantly changing agricultural industry: farmers are still doing most of the farm buying. “…as far as land ownership, the trends are kind of the same as they usually are,” Reyman told American Farmland Ow

Joel Salatin speaking at the 2026 Land Investment Expo Joel Salatin does not take a conventional approach. While discussing agriculture young people love, Salatin was an atypical figure on the stage at the lunch keynote session of the 2026 Land Investment Expo in Des Moines, Iowa.  Salatin is a self-proclaimed “Christian, libertarian, environmentalist, capitalist, lunatic farmer.” He even sells “lunatic farmer’ t-shirts as part of his merchandising line. Lunatic Farmer t-shir

As longtime investment strategist Ed Yardeni set to begin 2026, he was already thinking about the year’s second quarter. He offered a measured outlook: slower inflation, steady growth, and lingering uncertainty tied to Washington and global trade. Yardeni, President of Yardeni Research , has been a highly sought-after analyst on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, Fox Business, and the Wall Street Journal. His insight on global investment strategies is formed by deep dives into finan

American consumers may get a break, while American cattle ranchers just got some added competition. President Donald Trump followed through with his talk about importing more beef from Argentina, where his political ally is president. Trump signed off on a deal to quadruple the amount of beef from Argentina coming into the United States as he acknowledged record beef prices. Part of his announcement proclamation  read: “As President of the United States, I have a responsibili

For rural landowners, renewable energy remains one of the most talked-about — and misunderstood — developments shaping the countryside. Waylon Brown, Regional Policy Manager for Clean Grid, sees both the promise and the growing pains facing wind, solar, and battery storage across the Midwest.

$22,200 per acre 75.513 m/l acres in Effingham County, Illinois January 21, 2026 A high-quality tract in Effingham County, Illinois sold at public auction on January 21, 2026, bringing $22,200 per acre for a total of approximately $1.68 million. The property, located in Bishop Township northwest of Dieterich, consisted of 75.513 m/l acres of productive cropland with a strong 109.3 Productivity Index. The Krabbe-Spitz farm featured excellent access along E. 1200th Avenue and N

A 154-acre farm near Indianola, Iowa, sold at auction this January for $1.54 million, but it wasn’t a typical land sale. Along with the ground came one important condition: the longtime owner, Gwen Hodson, 93, will be allowed to remain in the farmhouse for the rest of her life.

Excitement rippled across the agriculture community this week after the IRS released long-awaited proposed rules for the 45Z tax credit . “Oh, it’s a good day,” said Mitchell Hora, founder and CEO of Continuum Ag, in a news conference to respond to the announcement. RELATED: Hora told American Farmland Owner last July that 45Z would lead to a surge in carbon awareness for landowners.   The Biden administration created the 45Z credit under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to e