Marisa Morgan Dallman

September is the month that many migrating monarch butterflies visit Kansas. The weather has started to cool and the Monarch Butterfly is seen more and more in yards and fields. If you have the plant species such as purple coneflower and others and on your property you will likely see at least a few butterflies. They actually migrate somewhat like birds and go to Mexico for the winter. Some butterflies make journeys as long as 3,000 miles. The peak for viewing these monarch migrations is mid-September for the top half of the state and later September for the bottom half of the state. Monarchs roost overnight and stop flying and then resume their migration with the morning sun. The butterflies head back north towards Kansas again in the Spring but it's not the same butterflies, it's the next generation. For more information about their amazing migration visit the Monarch Watch Program at the University of Kansas at

www.monarchwatch.org

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, a division of the USDA in Washington DC recently released the Agricultural Land Values and Cash Rents Annual Summary. Farm real estate values, a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms, averaged $2,100 per acre on January 1, 2009, down 3.2 percent from 2008. The 3.2 percent decrease from 2008 is the first decline in farm real estate value since 1987. However, regionally and locally always paints a different picture because Kansas was actually up in values in most areas. The following table summarizes Kansas land market values according to the report. For the full national report go to www.nass.usda.gov and for more information about Kansas Land Values please visit www.KansasLandBrokers.com

USDA is now taking sign-ups for the Conservation Stewardship Program. CSP is a voluntary program that encourages land owners to maintain existing conservation activities and adopt additional ones. For information go to

www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp

For additional Land Market News in Kansas visit

www.KansasLandBrokers.com

Who owns the most land in all of the United States?

Ted Turner.

Ted Turner, the founder of CNN news, owns approximately 2 million acres in the United States. His holdings include 20 properties in 10 states. The total amount of land he owns is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Investing in land has been a topic for centuries and many icons have shared their ideas about the values of land. Here are a select few famous quotes on the subject.

Don't wait to buy land, buy land and wait.
-Will Rogers

From the movie..Gone with the Wind
"Why, land's the only thing in the world worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for, because it's the only thing that lasts."

Real estate investing especially land has been used by many investors even the not so famous ones. If you are interested in buying land for an investment contact us for more information.

www.KansasLandBrokers.com

Most American farms are still family farms! Today 98 percent of all U.S. farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations. Just 2 percent of America's farms and ranches are owned by non-family corporations. In addition, 82 percent of U.S. farm products sold are produced on farms owned by individuals, family partnerships and family corporations. Source: 2009 Farm Fact Book

For more information and Kansas Farm Stats

http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kansas/index.asp

If you are thinking of selling your family farm and want it target marketed to other family farmers contact Kansas Land Brokers for more information.

www.KansasLandBrokers.com