Pinon Canyon: A Closer Look

For more than a year I’ve been tracking the largest proposed seizure of private property by the federal government in modern history: the Battle for Pinon Canyon. It pits ranchers in southeast Colorado against an opponent that’s not used to losing ground wars: the U.S. Army. 

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Mexico Opposes Ethanol

As we’ve seen over the last few months, skyrocketing commodity prices are pushing land values to record levels. They are also squeezing cattlemen and other producers who rely on corn and other grains to fatten livestock and poultry. One of the loudest voices protesting this trend has been Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who petitioned the EPA to grant a 50 percent waiver on the 9 billion gallon corn-based Renewable Fuel Standard. Now another vocal opponent of ethanol has emerged: south of the border. Read more

“The Land Market Has Never Been Stronger”

So says Mac Boyd, a broker at Farmers National in Arcola, Illinois. Boyd is just one of the many veteran real estate professionals who are closely monitoring the strongest farmland market in decades. Read more

Uranium Contamination at Pinon Canyon?

First, the Army set off a firestorm when it announced its intention to use eminent domain to condemn 400,000 acres of family farms and ranches in order to triple the size of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. Then lightning strikes ignited wildfires at Pinon Canyon that burned out of control on almost 50,000 acres on and off the range. Read more

Florida Pays $1.75 Billion for 187,000 Acres in the Everglades

In a massive deal announced earlier today, the State of Florida will acquire almost 300 square miles of the Everglades in and around the south end of Lake Okeechobee from U.S. Sugar Corp. for $1.75 billion ($9.000+ per acre). Read more

Fire Fuels Pinon Canyon Debate

Lightning has struck twice. The Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site is front-page news yet again, only this time the focus of the controversy is not just eminent domain but wildfire. Read more

Clint Eastwood Goes One on One with The Land Report

Clint Eastwood sticks to his guns. Not just when creating iconic characters such as Rowdy Yates, “Dirty” Harry Callahan, and Bill Munny or in his scintillating body of work as a director, but as a landowner. He’s interrupted a family vacation to discuss his breathtaking development overlooking California’s Central Coast. Read more

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA

Francis Ford Coppola’s Academy Award-winning films are undoubtedly his most famous works, but wine conneisseurs also treasure the acclaimed wines he has been producing at his Napa Valley estate since the mid 1970s. Read more

South Dakota Land Values Move Up

According to a recently released report from South Dakota State University, land values are up more than 25 percent across the state. Cash rents have also increased, gaining 15 percent over the same period. The report states that these are the highest increases the state has seen in 18 years. For more on this story, click here.

Eminent Domain Clouds Pinon Canyon

With more than 15 million acres of military bases, training centers, and maneuver sites, the US. Army ranks as one of Americas largest landowners. But when it comes to taking territory, shock and awe are not its most formidable weapons. As hundreds of ranchers in southern Colorado have learned, the big gun is eminent domain. Read more

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