Jackson County Sheriff’s Office reported 26 calls from February 8th to the 12th. Deputies assisted other agencies with 8 transferred calls, medical, traffic, driving complaint and the HEAT Team responded to an incident in Sheldon, Iowa. Deputies conducted 6 traffic stops resulting in citations being issued and took 2 separate scam reports. Deputies responded to a report of a disabled/abandoned 2013 GMC Terrain parked on the edge of 510th Ave. in Middletown Township. After investigating, it was discovered the vehicle was reported stolen from Truman sometime the previous day. The vehicle was towed, and the Truman PD will continue their investigation. Deputies responded to a report of suspicious activity at an old elevator in Heron Lake. Juveniles with flashlights were found playing in/around the old elevator. A full listing of Jackson County calls can be found by clicking link below.
Jackson County Sheriff Dept Feb 8th-12th
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The newly formed “Cottonwood Jackson CEO Program” will be the featured topic at the Sons of Norway Stavanger Lodge meeting this Saturday February 17th at 9:30am at the Cottonwood County Historical Society, 812 4th Ave in Windom. The public is cordially invited to attend this presentation free of charge. Guests are always welcome at any Lodge meeting and refreshments will be served.
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Southwestern Minnesota farmland values increased 14.7 percent in 2023
Worthington, Minn. (2-12-24)— The annual survey has been conducted of farmland sales in 14 southwestern Minnesota counties. The survey collects bare farmland sales to non-related parties for the first six months of each year. Land values had been steadily increasing until 2014. After reaching record-high prices in 2013, the upward trend was broken as prices declined in 2014 and continued down through 2017. The summary report for this survey is available at the county extension offices in Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, Watonwan, and Yellow Medicine counties. This year the increase across the 14 counties averaged 14.7 percent after a 27.9 percent increase in 2022.
Southwest Minnesota land prices peaked at $8,466 per acre then declined through 2017 to $6,340 until increasing in 2018 to $6,589 and declined slightly to $6,576 in 2019 and to $6,371 in 2020 until increasing in 2022 to $6,873 and reaching a new high of $9,950 in 2023. The largest increase year to year was in 2013 with an increase of 35.6 percent. Farmland prices decreased in one county, Lac qui Parle, but increased in thirteen counties from 2022 to 2023. Most counties went up significantly from 2022 to 2023. The largest increase was in Murray County with an increase of 37.1 percent while Lac qui Parle County experienced a decrease of 5.7 percent for the sales that met the bare farmland to non-related party transaction requirements.
Jackson County had the highest average sale price of $12,656 per acre and Lac qui Parle County had the lowest at $6,348 per acre. The average Crop Equivalency Rating (CER) for the 14 counties was 67 with the highest price per CER in Redwood County at $103.06 and the lowest in Lincoln County at $68.65 per CER. The assessed values were slightly higher than the actual sales price with the assessed value at 100.1 percent of the sales price. Historically, the assessed value would be 75 to 80 percent of the sales value. Half of the counties experienced average sales prices that were lower than the assessed values in 2023. While seven counties experienced average sales prices that were more than the average assessed values, the lowest percentage was 71.58 in Lyon County.
Each year sales vary. Within a county, land location could have an effect on these average values from year to year. The quality of the land sold within a county may be a factor in the wide swing in the prices from year to year in individual counties. The number of sales in each county varies greatly from year to year. The 14.7 percent increase is above historical increases of 1 to 2 percent. Several factors have an effect on land values. Farm incomes, grain prices, interest rates, return on other investments, and 1031 exchanges are often mentioned as reasons for the increase. Farm average incomes improved in 2019, 2020, and 2021, 2022 and are projected lower in 2023.
The 1031 exchange is for farmers or property owners who have land in an area of increased value due to location to city or development and rather than pay taxes on large gains from the sale of land they purchase like property or other farmland at a more reasonable price elsewhere, which increases rural farmland demand. The reason for increases or decreases in farmland sales prices is a combination of all of these factors. If you would like a copy of the two-page document on the trends in farmland sale prices, contact the local county Extension office at any of the 14 counties listed above.
Which direction will farmland values go depends on several factors. Supply and demand will determine this. The simple return on investment which is determined by rental rates will determine how competitive farmland is compared to other investments and this will determine the value of farmland. Corn and soybean prices were high in 2022 and declined from these high prices in 2023. This should have an impact on profits, farm rental rates, and eventually farmland values. The government program payments were minimal in 2022 and 2023.
The table below indicates average land prices from 2018 to 2023.
| County | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Chippewa | $6,578 | $6,460 | $6,336 | $6,231 | $6,812 | $6,333 |
| Cottonwood | $7,266 | $7,322 | $8,064 | $5,811 | $4,839 | $9,033 |
| Jackson | $7,399 | $6,671 | $6,361 | $7,334 | $6,750 | $9,300 |
| Lac qui Parle | $5,111 | $5,105 | $5,049 | $4,684 | $4,719 | $6,733 |
| Lincoln | $4,415 | $5,312 | $5,806 | $3,853 | $6,350 | $7,092 |
| Lyon | $6,057 | $5,358 | $5,607 | $5,509 | $6,902 | $8,787 |
| Martin | $6,370 | $6,120 | $6,915 | $8,894 | $7,479 | $9,127 |
| Murray | $6,135 | $6,406 | $5,446 | $6,055 | $6,622 | $8,038 |
| Nobles | $7,132 | $8,548 | $8,152 | $6,664 | $7,680 | $11,025 |
| Pipestone | $5,478 | $6,211 | $6,914 | $7,119 | $9,008 | $8,282 |
| Redwood | $6,852 | $7,114 | $6,600 | $6,858 | $7,082 | $10,534 |
| Rock | $7,545 | $8,656 | $8,851 | $8,698 | $7,854 | $9,935 |
| Watonwan | $6,588 | $7,373 | $6,006 | $5,948 | $6,671 | $9,918 |
| Yellow Medicine | $5,830 | $5,584 | $5,959 | $5,533 | $6,158 | $7,284 |
| Average | $6,340 | $6,589 | $6,576 | $6,371 | $6,780 | $8,673 |
Media Contact: Dave Bau, Extension Educator, Ag Business Management, U of M Extension Regional Office, Worthington, 507-372-3900 ext. 3906, bauxx003@umn.edu
For more news from U of M Extension, visit www.extension.umn.edu/news or contact Extension Communications at extdigest@umn.edu. University of Minnesota Extension is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
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Ahhh February 14th the Ol’ Heart Day better known as Valentines Day… It’s an age old tradition to watch for Cupid as he/she flies around and shoots arrows dipped in pure love at you. Now don’t get me wrong, I DO like the Holiday… and I was reminded this weekend when I was chatting on the portal with my Sweet Henry and he ran up stairs to grab his homemade Valentines Day Box. I gotta tell you it was pretty cool to hear how he made such a wonderful box… but what was cooler is that Henry told us that when he took his box to school for his Valentines Day Party he just knew people were going to just love it and tell him how awesome it really was. NOW I LOVE little kid Valentines Day. There is NOTHING better than building the Valentines Day box and creating Valentines Day cards or treats for all your classmates. I have helped create and build so many Valentines Day Boxes in my lifetime and that feeling of accomplishment and the anticipation of getting Valentines is next to none. BUT then we got into middle school and it just stopped. Why is it that we Stop making Valentines Day Boxes or creating little Valentines Day Cards for our friends that say Your Sweet or Will you be Mine or Tubular??? Valentines Day was always special growing up in my house because my Dad was MY Valentine. Ok he was my sisters too BUT I loved getting a Valentines from my Dad. I’d always get some kind of treat whether it be a box of chocolates, or a game or a baseball glove… BUT the most special thing I got for Valentines Day for 33 years of my life from my Dad was a poem. A Poem written just for me. My sisters and mine were never the same. Sometimes they were short and sweet and sometimes funny, sometimes they were so far-fetched they made my head spin. BUT always a poem just for me. I still cherish the poems that he wrote. I still pull out my Valentines from him on occasion just to feel a little closer. However you celebrate the day, I think the most important thing to remember is you are loved. It really doesn’t matter if you build the box or get the chocolates or flowers. What matters is that you remember you are loved. You make a difference by being in this world. And in honor of my Dad, rest his soul.. I’ll leave you with this… Roses are Red, there is an animal called opossum KDOM thinks all our listeners are truly AWESOME!!!