LandThink.com, an industry leading website that delves into the challenges and issues of buying, selling, or investing in land announced today that Shawn Terrel and Craig Peebles have been added to the 2012 LandThink Advisory Board.

The LandThink Advisory Board is comprised of individuals representing various sectors of the land industry including land brokerage, timberland, development, lending and technology.

“We are privileged to have Shawn and Craig joining our trusted panel of advisors,” said Ryan Folk, LandThink Founder and CEO. “They are visionaries whose industry-specific experience will be a tremendous asset to LandThink. The group of strategic thinkers we’ve assembled will contribute expertise and outside perspective, which will steer LandThink in the direction for continued growth.”

Shawn Terrel, from Kansas City Missouri, has over 18 years in the professional real estate and asset auction business. He is a graduate of the Missouri Auction School as well as the Texas Auction Academy, where he is a certified instructor. He is also a graduate of the Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI) at Indiana University, and holds the Accredited Auctioneer Real Estate (AARE) designation. In 2006, Terrel accepted an executive position as Vice President of United Country Auction Services, a division within the parent company United Country Real Estate. Terrel has been instrumental in building a national auction services division within the largest land sales company in America.

Craig Peebles, Divisional President of AgSouth Farm Credit, has over 30 years experience in the lending industry with Farm Credit. Peebles holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Georgia and has served as loan officer, branch manager, and SAM unit manager. He has spent 12 years as regional lending manager at Southeast Georgia Farm Credit and its successor, AgSouth Farm Credit. Peebles supervises AgSouth’s delivery of credit in Georgia.

Terrel and Peebles will join 4 incumbent members of the LandThink Advisory Board:

• Harry Mehre, Sr. Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle
• Barry Gittleman, VP Land and Strategy, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods
• Brooks Mendell, Ph. D., Founder of Forisk Consulting
• Ryan Folk, Founder and CEO, LandThink and LANDFLIP

Since its initial launch in 2008, LandThink.com has evolved and grown into the premier website for land professionals, owners and investors seeking information about the current land market. LandThink is an invaluable source of guidance for those interested in land investing. Land industry professionals contribute articles and posts to LandThink on a regular basis. They tackle an array of topics related to land such as how to buy land, how to sell land, 1031 exchanges, land ownership, land marketing and conservation.

To read full bios for all members of the 2012 LandThink Advisory Board, click here. Follow @LandThink on Twitter, “like” LandThink on Facebook and join the LandThink group on LinkedIn.

On September 29, 2011, the second annual LandThink Summit 2011 returns to the Gwinnett Center. This unique all-day conference brings together top-level professionals with common goals and interests.

Anyone with a connection to the land industry including land brokers, auctioneers, investors, owners, investment firms, foresters, REIT and TIMO managers, conservationists, developers, financiers, attorneys, appraisers, surveyors, industry experts and real estate professionals will greatly benefit from attending the LandThink Summit.

Conference participants from all over the country can anticipate an exhilarating and energized event with the opportunity to gain knowledge, make connections, engage with industry experts and share ideas on issues related to land.

Last year, the LandThink Summit became the first ever event with the sole focus of promoting land. There was an overwhelming response and this year’s event is poised to exceed attendance expectations. “The inaugural LandThink Summit 2010 was a huge success. Land professionals from all over the country attended and the feedback and word-of-mouth through the industry was extremely positive.  This year, we expect to double attendance with a mix of repeat attendees and newcomers,” said Ryan Folk, LandThink founder.

The Summit was created when Folk recognized the need to bring together experts on all topics related to the land business. “I was delighted by the number of sponsors who contacted us after last year’s event, eager to come on-board in the early planing stages.  It highlights their commitment to the common vision those of us involved in the land industry all share,” said Folk.

2011 Summit guests can expect to benefit from:

• A panel of highly respected, expert speakers from all sectors of the land industry
• Fun-filled charity auction to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• Peer-to-peer networking opportunities and social lunch
• Continuing education credit available for licensed real estate agents
• Results of the 2011 LandThink Land Market Survey

Sponsorship opportunities are still available at several different levels for companies or individuals with the desire to increase their name recognition throughout the land industry and gain exposure to a wide variety of professionals that help to shape the industry. Current sponsors of the 2011 Summit include: AgSouth Farm Credit, United Country Auction Services, Williams & Williams, LANDFLIP and the Georgia Association of REALTORS®.

For a chance to win an iPad 2 and a Smart Pass to the LandThink Summit, take the Land Market Survey. It takes only 5 minutes to complete. The results of the survey will provide a comprehensive assessment of the land market including an industry perspective on trends, the land market temperature, what areas are thriving or merely surviving and much more.

Do not miss out on this unique knowledge rich event! Save $50 by purchasing your Smart Pass before September 1st. Discounted hotel rates have been established for attendees at hotels located near the venue. Please visit www.getlandsmart.com to register and learn more about the 2011 LandThink Summit. Event news can also be tracked at Twitter or on Facebook.

The seminar put on by the FDIC in streaming video webinar format this morning titled Don’t Bet the Farm – Assesing the Boom in Farmland Prices was very interesting with a panel of speakers in various fields such as banking, agricultural professors and economists.  The one group that was blatantly not represented was the actual farmer or agricultural producer which was odd. It seemed that a representative from farming should have been there to give input on such an important topic.

The conclusions from most of the speakers were not really anything new or surprising as so much press coverage and media commentary has been put on this subject already.

The major points were:

• Farmland Values have risen quickly but farm income has also increased
• Interests rates are low and debt ratios are low (i.e. farmers are not leveraged as much as in the previous farm/banking busts)
• Demand is strong and will continue especially foreign demand for United States farmland crops (especially corn to China)
• Farmland value increases are not panic buying
• Farmland buyers are nearly 75% existing farm operations that are expanding and are buying with huge amounts of cash and small loans
• Investors represent a small sector of the buyers and most all of them are individual buyers (people buying back home where they grew up, non-operating farm owners that lease out to local farmers)
• Institutional buyers are less than 10% of the buyers of most farmland
• Farmland does NOT correlate with commercial and residential real estate markets.
• Extremely small amount of farmland actually on the market or being sold, farm owners do not typically sell…ever!  Those that do sell are usually non-operating owners that are 65+ that inherited the land.  There is 60% less land on the market today than ever in last 10 years.
• There are more buyers than sellers in the farmland market due to reluctance of farmland owners to sell for any reason other than consolidation or retirement.
• Almost all farmland buyers are local buyers (probably within the same county)

Some of the panel member were asked to predict what the market would be like in two years.  Most waffled but a couple answered straightforward.  The investment fund (REIT) Manager, Shonda Warner predicted that farmland prices would be stabilized.  An agricultural professor from Purdue suggested that prices will go even higher.  So what will happen?  Time will only tell.

The panelist slide shows should be on FDIC.gov later today and next week the video file will be posted for viewing.  It was an interesting overview especially from the banking prospective.

Over the past two years, LandThink has grown significantly. Our subscriber base has increased exponentially during that time and we’ve welcomed new contributors to the mix in various land verticals and regional markets. We hosted the first annual LandThink Summit in Atlanta where more than 250 attended from all over the country. We also introduced the LandThink Land Market Survey – the annual land survey to provide land professionals with valuable land market data. I guess you could say we’ve been busy!

Historically, the land industry has been fragmented and decentralized. Land agents do their work as do foresters, lenders, surveyors, etc… New and experienced land investors have questions that, until now, have gone unanswered. The pieces have been there but the glue has been missing. LandThink was created to help “defragment” the land industry and its various components in order to enhance and improve the land marketplace. We believe a smarter land marketplace is a better one.

As we enter 2011, we want to kick off the new year with something new. Something that will assist in bringing land investors and professionals together. So we embarked on a project to launch the LandThink Community (community.landthink.com) – a place where land investors and professionals come together, debate, share knowledge and experiences or simply network. We welcome your participation and feedback as the community grows. Take a few seconds to register and join the land discussion.

The LandThink Summit 2011 will again be hosted in Atlanta. We are anticipating an event that will include excellent speakers, break-out sessions and additional time to network with your peers. In addition, we’ll offer continuing education for those outside the state of Georgia, as well as other land industry fields. The venue, agenda and other items of importance will be shared at a later date. Based on the level of interest received from the 2010 Summit attendees, we would like to ask for your help in sponsoring our 2011 event. If you are able to place us in your 2011 budget plans, we will once again be able to offer an exceptional event. Please contact Lisa Gray for details and pricing information. We look forward to offering our sponsors and attendees a value-packed event for the coming year.

I want to take this opportunity to welcome and introduce you to the LandThink Advisory Team.

• Barry Gittleman – VP, Land and Strategy at John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods
• Brooks Mendell, Ph.D. – Founder of Forisk Consulting
• Dan Hatfield – 2010 National President REALTORS® Land Institute
• Harry Mehre – Sr. Vice President at Jones Lang LaSalle
• Jason Denton – Vice President of Corporate Lending at AgSouth Farm Credit

The Advisory Team is a select group of leaders representing various sectors of the land industry including: land brokerage, timberland, development, lending and technology. In conjunction with the LandThink team, these leaders will provide guidance and ideas that will help shape the future of LandThink. We’re thankful and proud to have these leaders involved with LandThink!

Finally, I want to thank all of our LandThink subscribers, contributors and supporters for their participation.  We appreciate all that you do and look forward to growing our relationship in 2011.

Get Land Smart!

On December 13th, Weyerhaeuser (WY) announced an annual dividend payment of $0.60 per share in 2011. This announcement marked a critical moment for the company’s pending emergence as a publicly-traded timberland-owning real estate investment trust (REIT), providing another investment alternative for investors interested in both timber markets and tax-efficient REIT structures. The first quarterly dividend payment of $0.15 per share is expected in March 2011.

At a recent closing price of $17.90 per share, the announced dividend yields 3.35%, compared with the average dividend yield of 5.02% for the timber REITs in the Forisk Timber REIT (FTR) Index: Plum Creek (PCL) at 4.55%, Rayonier (RYN) at 4.12% and Potlatch (PCH) at 6.37%). Weyerhaeuser will be added to the FTR Index effective the first trading day of 2011 on January 3rd.

Weyerhaeuser’s Management stated its intent to target a dividend payout ratio of 75% of FAD (Funds Available for Distribution, defined as cash flow before debt repayments and dividends) over the business cycle. However, in 2011, the payout approximates 100% of FAD as the company does not expect significant improvement in the housing markets and economy in general during the year.

We consider the target payout ratio of 75% of FAD positive news for WY investors. Why? WY has significant operating leverage as housing markets recover and its Timberland, Wood Products and Home Building businesses are positioned to benefit substantially. Management already stated its willingness to increase the dividend over time. Given the current scenario, WY will continue to defer harvest while its manufacturing assets generate cash to support the dividend and the debt payments. In addition, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services raised its outlook on the firm from “negative” to “stable” on expectations for improved operating results for the company.