11/12/2008 7:47:00 AM

Ag-Rural Land Remains A Sound Investment

The recent economic turbulence that has placed the Dow Jones Industrial average and global financial markets in turmoil has investors understandably skittish. With the value of their stock portfolios declining, Americans with discretionary cash are looking for alternatives.

Often overlooked is agricultural land. With one exception — that being the farm crisis of the early 1980s — rural land values have increased steadily since the 1950s. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, rural land values rose 13.5 percent nationwide during the previous decade alone, while dollars invested in the S&P 500 produced no gain after accounting for inflation (E.S. Browning, “Stocks Tarnished by Lost Decade,” Wall Street Journal, March 26, 2008). Read the rest of this entry »

The real estate brokers and agents at Loon Lake Realty invest a great deal of time driving to and walking potential new property listings to offer. Here’s one that didn’t make the cut.

• Way back at the end of a little gravel road, very secluded. – Check.
• A beautiful mix of pines and hardwoods. – Check.
• Power run all the way to the lake. – Check.
• A no wake lake, serene and quiet. – Check.
• Deer peacefully foraging along the lake shore. – Check.
• Clear, clean looking water. – Check.
• Sand bottom. – Another wasted tank of gas.

Another lake property not for sale by Loon Lake Realty.

Well before Ernest Hemingway popularized Michigan’s rivers and streams as settings and backdrops for his early short stories, Michigan was known as a trout fishing paradise.  However, there is more to Michigan than just the Big Two-Hearted River.  Other famous Michigan rivers and streams include Bear Creek, the Little Manistee River, the Pine River, the Boardman River, the Au Sable River and the Pere Marquette.  This list wouldn’t be complete without mention of the Manistee River.

Located in the western lower peninsula of northern Michigan, the Manistee River offers over two hundred thirty miles of the finest steelhead, salmon and trout fishing that can be found anywhere in the lower forty eight states.  Who better to offer insight and knowledge about the Big Manistee than someone who makes their living by offering fly fishing guide services?  Schmidt Outfitters has an excellent article about the Manistee River on their website:  Manistee River – Michigan Fly Fishing

With rising food prices, there’s been a lot of talk about modern “Victory Gardens”, a little vegetable garden in the backyard to grow some fresh and free food. Another source of fresh, organic and free food is the north country. For some this means game, fish and fowl. For others this means foraging for edible ‘wild’ plants: morels, fiddleheads, leaks, rice, tree nuts and berries.

A simple way to begin wild foraging is to be on the lookout for blackberries and raspberries, one of the easiest natural eats found in the forests of Wisconsin and Michigan. Here’s some photos of the raspberry patch I came across the other day. Sweet, juicy and 100% wild; the bounty of the northwoods!

For more on the subject of wild food foraging in the northwoods take a look at Wisconsin author Sam Thayer’s website: Forager’s Harvest

Sam Thayer’s book can be found on his website and also on Amazon along with many other excellent books on the subject: The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants

Vacation, recreation, relaxation; there are many reasons why people seek a northern lifestyle. For many, consumption is near or at the top of the list. When up north people like to take a break from their daily diet and dig into something hardy or even sinful like a greasy burger, big bowl of chili or deep-fried cheese curds. One such northern gastronomical delight can be found just a few miles outside of Crivitz, Wisconsin at Shaffer Park Resort on the Peshtigo River.

Read the rest of this entry »

“With sweat equity investment and a little scratch you can build your dream cabin without breaking the bank”

Many people dream of owning a log home in the country, in the woods or on the water. What often prevents the dream from becoming a reality are the perceived costs of the project. A recent article in Heartland USA magazine dispels some of those fears and myths.

Naturally it all starts with finding the right land to build on. After that, this cabin building article may help get that new vacation property ‘off the ground’.

Read the entire article by Tracy Breen at Heartland USA here: http://www.heartlandusamagazine.com/lifestyles/life_cabins.php

Dear Farmer Smith:

I have a friend of a friend of a friend who found a lake lot that a little old lady just wanted to get rid of it and didn’t know what it was worth. How do I find a real estate deal like this?

Sincerely, Ben Robbed

Dear Ben,

Kind of reminds me of that old urban myth about the Dead Vet’s Vette. You know that old tale about the old lady whose son was killed in Vietnam and years later sold his mint Corvette for $50 because she only saw it as an old ‘63Chevy?

First of all, whenever a story begins with ‘A friend of a friend . . .’ it is a myth. We want to believe the story because it sounds like we’re only one person away from such a fortuitous event happening to us. Second, the key word is myth. If you’re waiting for some sort of miraculous deal on property someday you’ll look back and wonder why you just didn’t go out and find some property that fits your needs at a fair price. Life’s not getting any longer. Last, please don’t tell me that you’re the type of scoundrel that would take advantage of some little old lady or any other person for that matter. Would you really enjoy the property with that weighing on your moral conscience?

Good luck on the property search,
Farmer Smith

P.S. My nephew, an honest to goodness computer geek, found this here link on his telephone:

http://www.snopes.com/autos/dream/deadson.asp

P.P.S Can you imagine such a thing? A telephone that goes on the internet? I remember when if you needed to get information from the telephone you just picked up the phone and listened to old Ethel Fleming gossip to Doris Kramer on the party line!

This is just a little test of a newer search feature offered by Google. Try it out and give me some feedback. Thanks in advance, Patrick

You know summer has finally arrived in Wisconsin when the wind carries the fragrant smell of freshly cut lawns, and brats on the grill.  For those of you not familiar with this Wisconsin delicacy, a brat (rhymes with hot) is a German style sausage served on a bun, a bratwurst.

This past weekend at the World’s Largest Brat Fest, held annually in Madison,  189,432 bratwursts were consumed, a Brat Fest record.  That amounts to 37,886 pounds of brats, or over 200 miles of brats if ‘linked’ (pun intended) end to end.

On your next drive up north just imagine a line of brats strung down the center-line guiding you home.

Read the full story here:

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2008/05/wisconsin-plent.html

Crivitz is one the central hubs of Northeast Wisconsin.  Although most of us can’t be up north every day, thanks to the webcam at the Crivitz High School we can take a look at the weather and the Crivitz ‘skyline’.

Check it out the Crivitz webcam here:

http://www.instacam.com/showcam.asp?id=CRVTZ&size=L