Pifer’s Land Management

03/05/2026

Wisconsin Maple Producers are flowing! Check out the update here 👇

01/31/2026

Pick which one 👇👇 comment on which one you would pick!

Owning Farmland vs Gold/Silver

When evaluating farmland strictly from a balance sheet perspective, the numbers tell a disciplined story. A 160-acre tract purchased at $10,000 per acre represents a $1.6 million acquisition. At $275 per acre in annual cash rent, that ground generates $44,000 per year in gross income. Over 20 years, that equates to $880,000 in collected rent before appreciation. Historically, quality Midwest row-crop ground has also appreciated over multi-decade horizons. Even at a conservative 3% annual appreciation rate, $10,000 per acre land grows to roughly $18,000 per acre in 20 years — placing the asset value near $2.9 million. That combines income generation with long-term capital growth, backed by a hard asset tied to food production.

Contrast that with gold and silver equities over the last 20 years. Physical gold has appreciated significantly during inflationary cycles, and silver has experienced strong volatility spikes, but neither provides recurring income unless structured through dividend-paying mining companies. The ride has included sharp drawdowns and sentiment-driven swings. Mining stocks in particular introduce operational risk, geopolitical exposure, and dilution risk. While metals can serve as a hedge during currency weakness or financial stress, they historically move in cycles rather than providing steady cash yield. An investor relying solely on capital appreciation in metals must time entry and exit effectively to outperform.

From a stability standpoint, productive farmland tends to behave differently than commodities or mining stocks. It generates annual income, provides inflation protection through rent adjustments, and historically maintains value through economic cycles because it produces a necessity — food and fiber. Metals can outperform during crisis-driven rallies, but farmland often wins in consistency and compounding when both income and appreciation are considered together. Over a 20-year horizon, the farmland example produces strong cumulative return with lower volatility and tangible collateral value — a balance sheet asset that works every season.

01/15/2026

Weather outlook for this spring into early summer looks to be possibly dry then wet as we get into the growing season.
1. Many are asking, how early is too early to plant your soybeans?
2. What does this look like for side dressing on corn?
3. Will the heat match the wet and setup for a better than average crop in lighter soil areas?
4. Will this impact the hay market for better or worse?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

01/14/2026

This time of year, land managers are writing YER’s or Year End Reports for our landowner clients. A years worth of work goes into these reports which creates a snapshot of their land for future reference. Absentee landowners often do not visit their land for a number of reasons and hiring a land manager can increase the overall scope of value during negotiations.

10/11/2025

Firewood demand is heating up while the American logging industry cools under the weight of higher costs, tighter margins, and shifting global trade flows.

Across much of the U.S., the logging sector finds itself in a transitional year. Inflation-driven fuel and labor costs continue to pressure contractors, and higher interest rates have slowed new home construction—one of the largest consumers of domestic lumber. The result: declining sawtimber harvests, fewer active mills, and an uncertain outlook for producers heading into the winter season. Yet beneath the challenges lies a growing market for alternative wood uses—particularly in firewood, biomass energy, and value-added timber production.

Nationally, logging revenue has contracted by roughly 3% annually over the past several years, and the number of active firms has fallen as small operators exit the industry. In the U.S. South, pine sawtimber prices fell nearly 9% year-over-year, while pulpwood and chip-n-saw markets also weakened. The Pacific Northwest faces a separate set of issues—log exports have dropped by more than 60% over the last decade, largely due to trade shifts and forest policy changes.

Meanwhile, in rural regions of the Upper Midwest and Northeast, firewood sales have remained resilient. Households reliant on wood heat are facing higher fuel costs, and demand for seasoned hardwood has increased, particularly in areas where natural gas infrastructure remains limited. This has created a steady if modest opportunity for small-scale loggers and private landowners to generate revenue from residual timber and thinning operations.

Technological investment continues to reshape the sector. Precision forestry tools, automated harvesting equipment, and improved supply chain tracking are enabling operators to extract more value from every acre. In parallel, mills are increasingly diversifying into engineered wood, cross-laminated timber (CLT), and glulam products to capture higher margins and align with sustainable building trends. Despite these shifts, the workforce gap remains one of the industry’s most critical challenges. Aging operators, limited entry of young loggers, and high insurance and maintenance costs continue to hinder production capacity in key timber regions.

The logging and firewood markets are evolving together—one marked by contraction, the other by grassroots resilience. While traditional sawtimber markets depend heavily on housing and exports, the local firewood and biomass sectors show that wood energy remains a vital piece of the rural economy. Looking forward, the operators who adapt through efficiency, diversification, and sustainable forest management will be best positioned to weather market volatility and capitalize on emerging opportunities in renewable wood energy.

10/05/2025

Midwest Grain Storage Outlook (WI / MN / IA / ND / SD) — Fall/Winter 2025-26

Regional capacity may look adequate on paper, but local pressure will show in the hot zones. Know your numbers heading into harvest.

Regional Rate Snapshot & Trends
• Topflight Grain (IL, near MN / IA border): 13¢/bu in-charge, then 4.5¢/bu/month prorated daily.
• Wisconsin (Alcivia / WI Grain Services): Corn: 5.0¢/bu/month (0.001644/day); Soybeans: 5.5¢/bu/month (0.001808/day), with a 7-day grace period before storage begins.
• Prairie Grain Partners (SD): Corn price-later storage ~0.08¢/bu/month, 7 days free; soybean ~0.10¢/bu/month.
• AgPartners (region, MN / SD / IA corridor): ~0.00164¢/day (~5¢/month) for open storage.
• Legacy Cooperative (ND / border region): ~8¢/bu/month for soybeans under storage / delayed pricing.

Commercial Rates Benchmark
• Across Midwest, commercial storage rates commonly run $0.05–$0.07/­bu/month for base storage.
• Many co-ops apply a “in-charge” or minimum initial charge before monthly accrual starts.

Shrink, Drying & Pro-Rating Details
• Most elevators pro-rate storage daily from delivery or after grace period (e.g. Alcivia, Topflight).
• Shrink and moisture discounts mirror national norms: ~1.4% shrink per point above base moisture (for corn) is common. Topflight uses 1.4% shrink to 14.0% base.
• Drying costs are layered: e.g. Topflight: 5¢/point for moisture above 15.1–19.0%, then sliding scale upward.

Regional Pressure Points & Strategy Calls
• In ND / SD / western MN, co-ops are tightening DP (delayed price) windows and storage caps — watch for early “in-charge” triggers (ex. Arthur Co. sets 7¢/bu monthly DP in ND).
• In Iowa / southern MN: strong bid zones may see storage creep earlier in harvest walks.
• In WI: storage tends to start after a short grace period; premiums for early storage are less aggressive vs. western corridors.

Manager’s Tactical Checklist
1. Confirm your nearest co-op’s in-charge + monthly rate, shrink base, and grace period.
2. Run your on-farm vs elevator drying + shrink math for your moisture profile to find tipping point.
3. Where basis and carry allow, use store + hedge to lock compression returns.
4. Prioritize moving the wettest, highest-moisture fields first out of fear of shrink or forced drying.
5. In tight zones (ND, west SD, west MN) consider pre-booking storage disposition early or routing to less congested facilities.

Bottom line for WI / MN / IA / ND / SD, Fall/Winter 2025–26:
Expect ~5–7¢/bu/month as a general working band, with “in-charge” fees (e.g. ~13¢/bu) on large elevators. Regional corridors—especially in ND, SD, western MN—will see storage pinch and tighter DP terms earlier. Check your local facility’s terms before dumping grain.

10/03/2025

Walking a field edge today, I stopped to take this photo of common milkweed. The silky seed pods are a reminder of why these plants matter far beyond their beauty.

Milkweed is the sole host plant for monarch butterflies, and its inclusion in USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs isn’t by accident. Programs like the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) often include milkweed in their pollinator habitat seed mixes. The reason is simple: monarch caterpillars can only survive on milkweed, and by restoring it across field borders, waterways, and buffer strips, we create essential habitat for butterflies and other pollinators.

FSA includes milkweed because it ties directly into the broader goals of soil conservation, wildlife habitat improvement, and water quality protection. It’s not just about creating butterfly habitat—it’s about building resilient ecosystems on working lands. As land managers, these plantings connect agriculture with conservation, ensuring future generations see both healthy crops and healthy pollinators side by side.

A single stand of milkweed can produce thousands of seeds, carried by the wind, spreading opportunity for monarchs and other pollinators across the landscape. Landowners who enroll acres into these conservation practices are not only improving their ground but contributing to something much larger.

09/29/2025

Daisy Fleabane, Erigeron annuus, is a native pioneer species that often colonizes disturbed areas such as pastures, abandoned fields, vacant lots, roadsides, railways, and waste areas. In these habitats it competes, often successfully, with introduced invasive weeds.

09/16/2025

Walking corn fields across Wisconsin and Minnesota this season has been a reminder that if a tenant didn’t spray fungicides, the crop can turn into a full-blown Petri dish of fun. Northern Leaf Blight, Southern Rust, Gray Leaf Spot, and Tar Spot are all showing up—and in some fields, they’ve taken it to the next level with entire stalk death and serious stalk quality issues.

When disease pressure climbs like this, it isn’t just about leaf tissue loss. Weak stalks create harvest risks, standability problems, and ultimately chip away at yield and profitability. The differences between fields where fungicides were applied and where they weren’t are night and day this year.

As we roll through the field check season, it’s a good reminder that fungal pathogens don’t wait for permission. Management decisions made in July and August echo all the way into the combine cab in October.

09/11/2025

Driving through southern Minnesota fields this week, white mold is beginning to show its presence in soybeans. This disease, also known as Sclerotinia stem rot, can sneak up quickly when weather conditions favor it—cool nights, heavy dews, and dense canopies all set the stage.

The photos below show the classic symptoms to look for in your fields:
• Cottony white fungal growth on stems and pods.
• Black hardened structures called sclerotia forming inside stems or on the surface (these allow the disease to survive in soil for years).
• Yellowing and premature death of plants, often beginning in patches where canopy stayed wet the longest.

Early identification is critical in evaluating how much damage might impact yields this fall. While fungicides work best when applied at early bloom, now is the time to scout and take notes for future management decisions.

White mold is one of those diseases that leaves its mark not only on this season’s crop, but also on field history for years to come. Staying ahead with crop rotation, canopy management, and variety selection will be key in these infected areas moving forward.

09/06/2025

A little tidbit from our incredible marketing creator!!