Farm & Ranch

Land Market Report: October Land Sales

Published

5 months ago

December 4, 2023

NTFR

By Jared Groce

The rural land market in our six-county area of Collin, Cooke, Denton, Grayson, Montague and Wise Counties held steady in October, with an overall average price of $30,101 per acre as compared to $25,674 per acre in October of 2022, however the average number of days on the market has increased somewhat from 109 days to 165 days.

Higher interest rates have had some affect on the land transactions, but there is still a lot of cash out there that is looking for land to park on. Folks with 1031 like-kind exchange money that have a limited amount of time to get that money reinvested are leading the pack of cash buyers.

We are seeing more reductions in list prices as time passes, as many sellers were pricing their properties at prices that were months ahead of their current market price. Those sellers have realized today’s market is not increasing as rapidly and need to get their listing prices back down closer to today’s actual value.

To read more, pick up a copy of the December issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.

Farm & Ranch

Hazards of Backyard Poultry

Published

1 week ago

April 21, 2024

NTFR

By Barry Whitworth, DVM

Having backyard poultry is a popular agriculture enterprise. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 0.8 percent of all households in the United States have chickens. People keep chickens for a variety of reasons with table eggs being one of the more common reasons.

Unfortunately, some of these poultry producers are not aware of the hazards that come with keeping poultry because many times they carry pathogens but appear healthy.
Chickens are carriers of several zoonotic diseases. These are diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. According to a recent survey in Pennsylvania, a majority of backyard poultry producers were aware of the dangers of avian influenza. However, this study also revealed that far fewer producers were aware of the risk of possible exposure to Salmonella and Campylobacter.

The lack of knowledge about the hazards of raising poultry likely contributes to the continued issues of Salmonella outbreaks associated with backyard poultry. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,072 illnesses of Salmonella linked to backyard poultry, and 272 of those patients required hospitalization. Oklahoma reported 43 individuals with the disease.

To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.