Land Report April 2013 Newsletter

It’s amazing – the yarns that can be shared about certain tracts of real property. Our April Newsletter takes a closer at several standout stories, including one that I am quite confident is destined to end up before the Supreme Court in a year or two. Why? The two states involved have been disputing their boundary for only the last 195 years.

Also in our April Newsletter you’ll find the story of an Oregon Senator who is considering a shift in federal management of certain timberlands. Meanwhile the Texas Legislature is currently embroiled in how best to combat the drought that has plagued much of the Lone Star State.

Last but not least, an uptick in the housing market has brought renewed activity to North American forests. Learn more as one of America’s largest landowners gears up for increased lumber sales.

For up-to-the-minute reports on listings, auctions, sales, and breaking news pertaining to land and landowners, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Land Report January 2013 Newsletter

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announces his plan to leave Washington and return home to Colorado. The Supreme Court agrees to hear a dispute between Texas and Oklahoma over water rights. And the State of Texas, on a completely different matter, asks the Nation’s highest court to intervene in yet another water fight, one that involves Texas and another neighbor, New Mexico.

So much for a slow start to 2013. Our January newsletter features these news items and as well as others, including Land Report 100er Louis Bacon’s timeless gift to establish the Sangre de Cristo Conservation Area in Southern Colorado.

For up-to-the minute reports on listings, auctions, sales, and breaking news pertaining to land and landowners, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

On the Block: 5,300± Acres in Four Georgia Counties

On Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 10:00 am eastern, the complete estate of Dr. J.H. Harrison will be sold at an onsite auction to be held at 3700 Baldee Road, Bartow, Georgia.

Listing Details:

2,865± acres in Jefferson County, Georgia

• Well Rounded Row Crop Operation
• Irrigated Cropland
• Timberland – Timber Cruise Available
• Grain Facility with 175,000 Bushel Storage
• Cattle Feed Lot
• 3 Homes, Office & Shop Buildings
• Paved Road Frontage
• Excellent Location

1,450± acres in Washington County, Georgia

• Excellent Row Cropland
• Paved Road Frontage
• Plantation Pines
• Excellent Deer & Turkey Hunting
• Good Soils – Soil Analysis Available

392± acres in Johnson County, Georgia

• Great Homesites
• Excellent Timber Investment – Timber Cruise Available
• Abundant Deer & Turkey
• Road Frontage on Smith Creek Road, Shepard Road & Pollett Road

593.5± acres in Tattnall County, Georgia

• Excellent Recreational Tract
• Ohoopee River Frontage
• Great Hunting Deer and Turkey
• 4.5 Miles from Cobbtown, GA

For more information, contact Bill Dunn with Rowell Auctions, Inc. at (800) 323-8388 or visit www.RowellAuctions.com.

Also selling late model John Deere equipment on Saturday, February 2nd, 2013 at 10:00 am eastern in cooperation with Weeks Farm Machinery Auction, Inc. For a complete inventory list, visit www.WeeksFarmMachinery.com.

Rowell Auctions, Inc. – A MarkNet Alliance Member
(800) 323-8388
GAL AU-C002594

State of Georgia Acquires 10,015 Acres

In December, the Georgia State Properties Commission unanimously approved the acquisition of 10,015 acres of land in Houston County for $28.7 million from Oaky Woods Properties LLC. The Middle Georgia acreage is part of 16,000 acres in Oaky Woods west of the Ocmulgee River already under lease by the state.

At $2,865+ per acre, the acquisition cost is almost double the property’s price in 2004, which is when the State of Georgia declined the opportunity to acquire it previously.

88 – Danny, Doug & Larry Adams – 100,000 acres

Based out of Atlanta, the Adams brothers operate one of the most extensive real estate companies in the nation. They literally own hundreds of pieces of property. Some are cattle ranches. Others are for hunting and fishing.

32 – Langdale Family – 240,000 acres

Based in Valdosta, Georgia, the Langdale Company dates back to 1894. Founder John Wesley Langdale died in 1911 and left his property to his three sons, one of whom was Harley Langdale Sr. Harley acquired more and more land, most of which is used today for timber and other forest products.

10 – Huber Family – 600,000 acres

Started in 1883 by Joseph Maria Huber, the New Jersey-based J.M. Huber Corporation has grown from a small dry-colors business into a multinational, industrially diverse company. But evenwith all this growth, at least one thing hasn’t changed: The Huber family is still minding the store, and the corporation is one of the largest family-owned businesses in the country. The land holdings of Huber’s natural resources division include 600,000 acres across the country. The company has timberland in Maine, Oklahoma, and the Southeast, and its oil and gas properties can be found in Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Utah.

1. Ted Turner – 2 million acres

Why on earth would one man own 20 properties in 10 states, a swath of America so large that it not only dwarfs Rhode Island, but also exceeds both Rhode Island and Delaware combined? The answer is astonishingly simple. Because he’s Ted Turner.

The man is incapable of thinking small. That’s how he made his fortune, first by buying a failing UHF station and transforming it into WTBS. Then he launched CNN. Then he acquired the MGM movie library. Then he rolled out Turner Classic Movies. With Turner, one idea begets another, which is how he became the country’s leading land baron.

The brainstorm behind his far-flung empire was a single bison he bought in 1976. Three decades later, he owns 40,000, the largest private herd in the country. Bison steaks and bison burgers from Turner Ranches are shipped to upscale grocers coast to coast and served at his chain of restaurants, Ted’s Montana Grill.

Along the way, he purchased 14 ranches in 7 western states: 4 in Montana, 4 in Nebraska, and 3 others in South Dakota, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In New Mexico alone, he owns more than 1 million acres.

“I acquired more land because I required more land. I wanted it,” Turner said in a 2004 interview. “I never like to buy anything except land. It’s the only thing that lasts.”

The Turner portfolio also includes personal homes in the Atlanta area and in Big Sur, as well as plantations in South Carolina and Florida, where his beloved Avalon lies. This treasured retreat encompasses more than 25,000 acres south of Tallahassee, and with a conservationist’s touch, Turner is reintroducing longleaf pine on the property. The vast majority of his holdings, however, can be found on the Great Plains and in the Rocky Mountain West, where he stocks his bison.

Turner’s ultimate plan? According to published reports, after his death the properties will go into a trust, which his five children will manage until the last one passes away. At that point, the trust will revert to the Turner Foundation, an Atlanta-based charitable organization that Turner founded in 1990 to preserve the environment.