Foreign Investors Own Major Stake in Maine

Foreign investors own an interest in 21.2 million acres of U.S. forest and farmland, an amount that equates to just under 1 percent of all the land in the U.S. Every one of the 50 states as well as Puerto Rico has foreign ownership, but far and away the largest concentration was in Maine with 3,323,846 acres (16 percent of the national total). Forest and timberland accounted for more than 3 million of those acres with Canadian companies the leading landowners.

The figures were compiled by the Farm Service Agency from filings required by the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 and are available in this handy 178-page report.

Florida: “It’s Almost Like a Fire Sale”

A University of Florida study has put a staggering number on just how badly the economic crisis has impacted rural land values in the Sunshine State. The study concludes that land values plummeted upwards of 55 percent in 2008 from highs just one year previously.

The study focused exclusively on rural land, mostly those outside of urban areas that would have been hot spots for development just prior to the worldwide economic collapse.

“In some cases, it’s almost like a fire sale,” said Rodney Clouser, the UF professor of food and resource economics who led the survey.

The study found the northern part of the state most affected with values dropping the aforementioned 55 percent.

Farmland, that which traditionally would be the main focus of The Land Report readers, saw declines that reached as much as 26 percent.

What’s worse is the predicted continued decline in 2009.

Land prices are expected to continue their drop through 2009 — although not as dramatically as in 2008. Survey responses from individuals involved in the Florida real estate market predict an overall drop between 5 and 17 percent.

The full UF report is available here.

70 – Isaac Ellwood Heirs – 130,000 acres

Joseph Glidden and Isaac Ellwood brought an end to the open range in the American West. The two entrepreneurs co-owned the original patent for barbed wire and profited handsomely. Ellwood’s descendants own and lease five ranches in West Texas totaling 260,000 acres. According to family spokesman John Welch, approximately half is deeded land.

68 – Wilson-Hodge Ranches – 134,000 acres

Headquartered in Del Rio, Texas, this family-owned ranching company has three divisions spread out in three counties in Southwest Texas. In addition to traditional ranching operations, a wildlife management program has been implemented that has bolstered native populations of whitetail and mule deer, turkey, dove, and quail.

96 – Eshleman Family – 96,00 acres

The family’s Eshleman-Vogt Ranch is located in Jim Hogg County. This South Texas property is used primarily for cattle ranching, although hunting leases are proving to be a valuable source of income as well.

13 – Dolph Briscoe Jr. – 560,000 acres

A two-time Texas governor, Briscoe, 85, also served as the president the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association where he spearheaded the cattle industry’s effort to eradicate screwworms. He declined to confirm published reports of the size of Briscoe Ranch, which was established by his father.

22 – Fasken Family – 300,000 acres

The Faskens were lucky enough to settle in West Texas before oil and gas were discovered in the Permian Basin. Their holdings now span Midland, Ector, Andrews, and Martin counties, and they own additional acreage in Culberson and Reeves counties, as well as in South Texas near Laredo.

20 – The Lyda Family – 320,035 acres

Gerald Lyda was a San Antonio general contractor who built landmarks such as the Tower of the Americas and the Alamodome. But cowboying was in his blood, and he loved to buy and sell ranches throughout the Southwest. Just ask top-ranked Ted Turner, who bought New Mexico’s 156,439-acre Ladder Ranch from Lyda in 1992. Lyda put the proceeds from that sale into a 1031 Exchange and bought the Elsinore Ranch in Far West Texas, which he rechristened La Escalera (”ladder” in Spanish). His three children and their families now run La Escalera. Tours of the Escalera Ranch website are highly recommeded.

19 – Anne Marion – 345,000 acres

Alas, the Four Sixes Ranch does not trace its founding to a winning poker hand. Ranch founder Samuel Burk Burnett purchased a herd of cattle with the 6666 brand and eventually registered the mark as his own in 1875. His great-granddaughter is the sole owner of the 345,000-acre cow-calf operation.

18 – East Family – 350,000 acres

Following the death of Richard King’s widow, a substantial number of heirs joined together to maintain the King Ranch legacy (see King Ranch Heirs). Alice Gertrudis Kleberg East, however, eventually cashed in her interests and received two ranches of her own: the San Antonio Viejo and the Santa Fe. They now belong to her descendants.

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