land property associates
buying, selling and managing farmland since 1987
our focus
corn and soybeans
Corn and soybeans play a vital role in feeding and fueling the world. They are the two most widely grown crops in the United States. In 2024, more than 89 million acres were planted to corn and more than 86 million acres were planted to soybeans. If you combined the planted acres of all other principal crops (wheat, cotton, rice and many others) their combined planted acres would not match that of either corn or soybeans.
Both corn and soybeans are widely used as a primary ingredient of animal feed due to their high protein content. They are found in alternative fuels, corn in the form of ethanol and soybeans in the form of biodiesel. And both are used for a wide range of food and industrial uses, including beverages, cereals, chips, starch, sweeteners and cooking oils, as well as aluminum, cosmetics, paper and textiles. In all, corn and soybeans can be found in more than 4,000 products in the US alone.
a special area of the corn belt
The Corn Belt is a region in the Midwestern United States that includes South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Together, these 9 states account for roughly 80% of US corn production and 70% of US soybean production. On a global scale, these 9 states account for roughly 25% of global corn production and 20% of global soybean production.
Within the Corn Belt, we focus on a specific geologic region known as the Iowa and Missouri Deep Loess Hills. The primary attraction of this region is Loess Soils. Loess, pronounced “Luss,” was created when glaciers retreated along the Missouri River more than 500,000 years ago. The glaciers left behind fine particles of silt that were swept up by the wind and deposited in certain areas, most notably in drifts east of the Missouri River. These deposits of topsoil are 200 feet deep in some areas. After the loess was deposited, prairie grass grew and died back over thousands of years, leaving the soil rich in organic matter. Since corn and soybean roots travel more than five feet into the ground, these deep fertile soils are highly desirable for farming.
Within the Iowa and Missouri Deep Loess Hills, we have focused on west-central and northwest Missouri, as well as southwest Iowa. Yields on the best farms in these areas are competitive with the high yield areas of central Iowa and Illinois but with several advantages, including a lower cost of land and lower real estate taxes. With highly competitive yields, lower cost of land and lower real estate taxes, our area offers high relative value.