When Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., needed to sell farmland from a trust, university officials did not know much about the process. But Dan Ferris, Olivet Nazarene’s executive director of development and foundation, learned that Soy Capital Ag Services had the knowledge and experience he needed to become educated along the way.

Corn and soybean producers have experienced rising revenues per acre in the wake of higher grain prices and better yield potential. Protecting those revenues in an industry dependent on the weather is important, and crop insurance can be an excellent, and many times necessary, choice to manage production and price risk.
“Producers have many corn and soybean insurance products available to them,” says Kevin Meiss, Soy Capital farm manager in the Bloomington office. “Insurance may protect losses from production only, or production and price, depending on the product selected. Producers also have the choice to insure farms on an individual basis or their entire countywide operation. Different coverage levels allow each producer to choose the protection needed, so finding a policy to fit each individual operation is likely.”
Crop insurance is offered by USDA’s (United States Department of Agriculture) RMA (Risk Management Agency). The RMA program is not available from local USDA offices, but is delivered by local private insurance agencies working with private insurance companies.
“A big advantage of the USDA crop insurance program is cost to producers. Currently, producers only pay a portion of the total premium of these crop insurance policies,” explains Meiss. “The remaining cost is subsidized by the federal government. The level of subsidy depends on the product selected and the level of coverage, but is currently more than half of the cost on most policies. Cost to manage risk with these products is very reasonable.”
Meiss adds that with the drought of 2012, many corn and soybean producers would have suffered huge financial losses if they had not protected themselves with crop insurance. Crop insurance helps stabilize the agriculture industry and should be considered as an important risk management tool by each producer. If you have any questions regarding crop insurance and products available, please contact Kevin Meiss at 309-665-0056 or kmeiss@soybank.com.

Farmland finished 2012 on solid footing, rising to record values throughout the last quarter of 2012 and into the new year.
“We finished 2012 with higher highs toward year-end, and completed the first two months of 2013 averaging $12,978 across all acres sold by Soy Capital,” says David Klein, Soy Capital Ag Services managing broker and auctioneer based in the Bloomington, Ill., office. “This comes on the heels of a tremendous farm income year throughout Illinois, despite dry conditions. Farmers and farmland owners are reinvesting their earnings into the asset class they believe is giving them the best returns right now, and they are comfortable placing their money in farmland. Low interest rates and relatively high grain prices are the main contributors, but also uncertainty surrounding the value of the dollar and general economy are also factors.”

The Chicago Federal Reserve Bank recently released the results of its annual survey, showing farmland values up 10-24 percent across Illinois, depending on location.

“Areas that received better rainfall in 2012 have farmers willing to pay stronger rents or have higher cash earnings, and that is being capitalized into higher farmland values,” says Klein.
He says particular strength was seen in western Illinois and the I-80 corridor during the winter for both land values and rental rates. Other regions that have had as many as four poor years, ranging from too much rain in 2009-2010 to extremely dry conditions in 2011-2012, had a softer market. However, Klein adds the general supply of farmland available can drive the market to extremes in tightly held areas.
To discuss farmland values and marketing or purchasing investment-grade farmland, call David Klein at 800-532-LAND

Kevin Hilligoss doesn’t believe you can manage farms strictly from behind a desk. He likes to put his boots on and head into the country to see crops and clients himself.
“That really is Soy Capital’s philosophy,” says Hilligoss, who recently was named vice president and regional manager for the Decatur office following Jim Flanigan’s semi-retirement. “We like to take a hands-on approach by getting out of the office from time to time. I grew up on a farm and still farm myself, so it is important to me to get out and visit with people.”
Hilligoss has been a farm manager with Soy Capital Ag Services’ Decatur office since 2008. He manages more than 10,000 acres of Central Illinois farmland, working closely with farm tenants on crop input decisions, marketing grain and reporting crop progress to farm owners. He also enjoys the new business development aspect of the job.
“Agriculture is changing so rapidly, and that brings lots of opportunity. Soy Capital farm managers try to be in the right place at the right time to provide services farmland owners may need,” he says. “We want to meet whatever requests clients or prospective clients might have.”
Hilligoss also is a licensed Illinois real estate broker. “We have been very busy buying and selling farmland for clients during the last four or five years,” he says.
“With Jim’s retirement, there is much responsibility that I and other farm managers in the office will need to pick up,” Hilligoss continues.
“Thankfully Jim will still be around, which will help us fill in the gaps with all his knowledge and experience. Our goal is to not miss a beat in working with individual clients to keep them informed about their operations.”
Hilligoss previously worked for Busey Bank in Decatur as an assistant vice president and farm manager. He received his bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Illinois State University in 1999. He and wife, Emily, have two boys, Wyatt and Will, and live on a small grain/livestock farm in rural Lovington, Ill. Hilligoss enjoys spending time with family, coaching his sons’ baseball teams, Fighting Illini basketball and Chicago Cubs baseball. For more information, contact Hilligoss at 217-421-9618 or khilligoss@soybank.com.

After 40 years of farm management service, Jim Flanigan has stepped aside as regional manager for Soy Capital Ag Services’ Decatur office. Kevin Hilligoss has been named his replacement. Flanigan will remain with the office as managing real estate broker. He has experience selling large and small tracts of land and timber in the southern half of Illinois.
“I plan to focus solely on real estate sales and acquisitions,” says Flanigan. “Technology and farming efficiencies during the last 40 years have really enhanced our ability to work with clients, in terms of communications, creating financial reports and overall farm management. I expect management and real estate sales will evolve in much the same manner in the future.”
Flanigan is a licensed real estate broker with the state of Illinois. He holds an agricultural science undergraduate degree from the university of Illinois and received an MBA from Illinois State University.
Flanigan can still be reached at 217-421-9614 or jflanigan@soybank.com.

Bloomington, Illinois (November 28, 2012) – 156.2 acres of prime farmland in Illinois’ largest corn and soybean producing county hit a record high price today at an auction conducted by Soy Capital Ag Services. The record $15,200/acre price for this farm, which also has a small machine shed and one other farm building was purchased by a local farm family. It is located 11 miles west of Bloomington’s southwest corner or 1½ miles west of Stanford on the Tazewell/McLean County line. “Over 90 people attended the auction with 37 registered bidders and several active bidders above $12,000 per acre. People were there early and ready to bid.” said Soy Capital’s Managing Broker and Auctioneer, David Klein. “We have seen other auctions that have two bidders take a certain tract above that level, but this was a unique farm with desirable characteristics in a tightly held area of western McLean County. In February, 2012 we sold a farm five miles east and three miles north for a record price at that time as well – $14,100 per acre, so the trend continues higher for the highest quality farmland.”

Soy Capital Ag Services, a division of SCB Bank & Trust Co. , headquartered in Decatur, Ill., with additional offices in Bloomington, Kankakee, Peoria and Springfield, is a leading agricultural real estate marketing and auction company. The company also manages more farmland assets in Illinois than any other firm. Individuals interested in additional information may contact David Klein at 309-665-0961.

As a minister in Hartford, Conn., and a farmland owner in Illinois, Chuck Wildman had to do a lot of the work to sell his family farm from afar. He tried the private sale route about five years ago without success, so he called Soy Capital Ag Services about the auction approach.

“I contacted Steve Jacob in the Kankakee office, which is near the farm,“ says Wildman. “I made a couple of trips to Illinois, but most of the work was done long distance. I was never sorry about my choice. Steve and the Soy Capital team were very helpful. They did a thorough job of explaining how a land auction works and were very patient in answering all of my questions. They were very communicative and sensitive to all issues during the entire process.”

Jacob says the process began last January. He put together a 31-page formal proposal with several options and methods to market the farm. The listing agreement was completed in

March and the auction held at the Kankakee VFW in September. Advertisement via signage, the Internet, newspaper, direct mail, brochure and flyer began in July. Closing was held in October.

“Chuck was very helpful and easy to communicate with throughout the whole process,” says Jacob. “We suggested a survey be done, and followed through with a local surveyor to get the survey completed and included in all of our printed materials. We followed up with personal phone calls to all who expressed interest in the land to see if anyone had questions.”

The 158 tillable acres sold for $9,600 per acre, the highest farmland sales price in the area ever. Wildman previously sold six acres with the farmstead to the long-time tenant.

“This farm had never been sold before. My great-grandfather came from Northern Ireland and homesteaded the farm in the 1860s,” says Wildman. “The original deed was from the Iroquois Nation to the Illinois Central Railroad. When my grandfather took over the farm, he bought out his seven siblings to continue farming. My father was born on the farm, but moved to Chicago, where I was raised. We have had a tenant farming the property since that time.”

Wildman gives Soy Capital high marks for the successful sale. “We had a professional auction. It was wonderful to see all the resources that go into the sale and the detail of the sale,” he says. “If you have never done a real estate sale or purchase by auction, it is a smooth process. Soy Capital gave the time and attention needed. I have much confidence in their capabilities.”

Soy Capital Ag Services farm managers help farmland owners make the most of every crop production acre every year. Achieving that goal often includes obtaining the best crop prices, a responsibility that begins with the Soy Capital Grain Marketing Committee. “Our objective is to set recommendations for corn and soybean sales throughout the year,” says Chad Hoke, farm manager with the Bloomington office and committee lead. Hoke recently assumed the duty from Jim Flanigan in the Decatur office. “We meet every three to four weeks. We talk about crop conditions in each of our areas, and what we think are the best recommendations for advance crop sales. We establish overall guidance and pricing direction, although each farm manager has flexibility to work individually with clients.”

In addition to Hoke, the committee includes Kevin Meiss, also from the Bloomington office, Jaret Wicker from Kankakee, Tom Toohill from the Springfield office, Steve Burrow from Peoria and Tyler Roth from Decatur.

“We begin to discuss marketing a crop in the fall of the year before the crop is planted. We analyze supply and demand and crop prospects to determine when to consider advancing sales,” says Hoke. “We are managing risk, so we choose multiple price and timing targets to make forward sales. We also try to surpass the annual average cash corn and soybean prices received by farmers released by USDA.”

In addition to USDA, the committee compares their projected average against the average of four professional market advisers and Soy Capital’s actual sales average. For 2011, the committee projected an average of $6.22 per bushel for corn. The advisers’ average was $6.06, USDA estimated $6.25, and the Soy Capital actual sales average was $6.38 per bushel. The committee projection for soybeans was $12.60 per bushel, the advisers’ average was $12.87, USDA’s average was $12.40, and Soy Capital’s actual average was $13.00 per bushel.

“Making sales the way we do in a volatile market helps us spread risk and often leads to a better average sales price,“ says Hoke. “Our clients get a consensus of multiple opinions. We may not always hit market highs, but our goal is to achieve overall prices leading to good annualn cash returns for our clients.“

The value of farmland across Illinois continues to rise. While the rate of increase has slowed somewhat, prices are expected to continue upward with little impact from the 2012 drought, finds the Mid-Year Land Values Snapshot Survey conducted by the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ISPFMRA) and the University of Illinois. “The society conducts a survey halfway through the year to evaluate trends in farmland prices and cash rents. This information supplements the society’s larger efforts at year-end to document farmland prices and cash rents across Illinois. The 2012 mid-year survey also focused on the drought’s impacts on farmland prices and cash rents,” says Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois professor and farm management specialist, who summarizes the results.

“Overall land values increased by five percent during the first half of 2012,” says Don McCabe, chairman of the survey project and president of Soy Capital Ag Services. “But this is less than the double-digit increases we’ve seen the past few years.”

On July 1, 2012, farmland prices averaged $11,200 for excellent quality farmland, $9,200 for good quality farmland, $7,800 for average quality and $5,900 for fair quality farmland. At the end of 2011, the survey indicated value of the best quality land surpassed $10,000 for the first time. In a normal year, excellent quality farmland averages more than 190 bushels of corn per acre.

About 12 percent of respondents expect farmland prices to increase more than five percent during the next 12 months, and 52 percent expect increases between zero and five percent. Seventy-five percent believe the drought will have little impact on farmland prices. Respondents say the most important factors influencing farmland prices over the next 12 months include grain prices and interest rates. Other responses included politics and the 2012 election, legislation (farm bill, tax policies), returns on alternative investments, crop expenses, investor demand, and local yields both this and next year.

Dan Patten has been a farm manager with Soy Capital Ag Services’ Bloomington office since he graduated in 1996 from the University of Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural mechanization.  He grew up on a farm near Dwight, Ill., and decided a career in farm management would offer a great deal of variety. He has not been disappointed.

“I enjoy the seasonality of farming. Every year presents new challenges and opportunities that help you learn more about how to improve crop production for clients,” he says. “I like making farms better and making decisions that pay to boost yield and produce results.”

During his tenure with Soy Capital Ag Services, Patten has acquired his Illinois real estate license, has earned a Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) designation from the American Society of Agronomy, and received an Accredited Farm Manager (AFM) title from the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. As a licensed broker, he assists investors from the U.S. and other countries who wish to acquire and manage Illinois farmland.

Patten also likes to help clients market grain and improve their bottom line. “If I can help someone average 10-20 cents more per bushel,or if a change in farming practices yields five more bushels per acre, that is $40 more per acre revenue at current corn prices,” he says. “One of the advantages of professional farm management is that we have the expertise and experience to show clients how investments such as drainage can make a big difference in profitability.

“Farm management is a very personal business,” Patten continues. “I try and be available to answer all questions and tailor our service to what clients want.”

For more information, Patten can be reached at 309-665-0962 or dpatten@soybank.com.