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Feedback: Winter's Hot Commodity Is Farmland

Story Published: Jan 30, 2013 at 2:30 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jan 30, 2013 at 8:01 PM EDT

Here's the thing about cows - it takes a lot to feed them.

"It takes a couple of acres per cow. Two to 2.5 acres per cow, roughly," said Mike Hill, owner of Hillcrest Farms.

These days, buying food is expensive.

So farmers like Hill are instead buying more land to grow their own.

Mike and his partners just bought 900 acres.

"There's not a lot of opportunity to purchase land, and the opportunity came up, so we made the most of it," said Hill.

In fact, farm land is in such high demand that farmers will buy land far away from their own farms.

Jay Matteson is Jefferson County's Agriculture Coordinator.

"We have dairy farms in the southern part of the county that are now buying land in the Chaumont, La Fargeville areas, where they're traveling 30, 40 miles," said Matteson.

Another reason why farm land is going quick - farmers are raising crops like corn, soybeans and wheat for export.

"We're seeing those crops being sent to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe," said Matteson.

Some of the land being bought hasn't been used for farming for years.

Matteson says it's the best kind of economic development - just add a little rain and sun.

 

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Thursday, June 20, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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