Record land prices are making land-buying decisions tougher for production agriculture. The American Bankers Association offers these 15 questions to ask before diving into a land purchase....More

On April 16, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) senior agricultural counsel said clean energy and building bridges with the farming/ranching community will be priorities going forward....More

Attorney James Decker’s advice to ranchers entering lease agreements for oil and gas exploration on their land is to have a lawyer with expertise on mineral rights on your team....More

What impact would the failure of the U.S. Congress to address the estate tax before Jan. 1 have on your business operations and estgate planning? Unless Congress acts, the federal estate tax will drop on Jan. 1 from the current $5-million individual exemption and 35% tax rate, to $1 million and a 55% tax rate. Most land-owning agriculturalists, who tend to be asset-rich but cash-poor, would be impacted by that change....More

The average value of U.S. pastureland rose 4.5% through the start of this year to $1,150/acre, USDA says. That’s another new nominal high, but pales against the blistering cropland market, where values swelled 14.5%....More