NOW AVAILABLE: Search by County

Posted on February 3, 2012 by DakotaProperties

DakotaProperties.com has over $102,000,000 worth of property for sale. We now offer the ability for you to search for listings by county. Just click on the state on the Property Search on the left hand side of our website, and a drop down box with the counties we currently have listings in, will open up. You can also narrow down your search results by price, number of acres and type of property you are looking for!

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Happy New Year

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Joe Duling

Hunting season is pretty much over in the south central part of the state.  It appeared to me we had a record number of pheasant hunters here even with the below average bird numbers.  Everybody had to work harder to shoot their limit.

People ask me how long this will last and I say a long time.  Hunters come to South Dakota for many reasons besides hunting.  It’s become an annual getaway and social event for many.  Others like the landscape and friendliness of the residents.  I know lodgeowners who have had the same clients for 30 years and now their grandchildren come.

If you’re looking for your own place in Gregory County we have a couple great rural properties that may be a second home or lodge.  Give us a call and come see why the hunters keep coming back. Happy New Year!!

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Real Estate Prices Soar For Farmland

Posted on January 4, 2012 by DakotaProperties

On eve of caucus, a different boom in Iowa. Real Estate prices soar for farmland.

By Jessica Hopper, Rock Center

It’s the home stretch of campaigning for Republican presidential candidates ahead of the caucuses in Iowa. On Tuesday night, they’ll fold up their tried-and-true stump speeches about the state of the economy – high unemployment and faltering property values; even though in Iowa, unemployment is (well) below the national average and farms are selling for millions of dollars.

In Iowa, farmland is king with prices per acre soaring more than 30 percent in the last year, sending everyone from local farmers to out-of-towners clamoring to buy land.  Demand for farmland has created a real estate boom not only in Iowa but across the Midwest.

Farmland values are 25 percent higher than a year ago across Midwestern states like Illinois and Indiana, according to the Federal Reserve of Chicago.

“They’re not coming out here to tell us how to fix our economy,” said Dan Piller of the presidential contenders vying for caucus votes in Iowa. Piller is a reporter for The Des Moines Register and covers agriculture and bio-fuels.  He’s watched rising corn prices in the state translate into booming land prices. “The price of corn has about tripled in the last five years.  The price of corn essentially sets the price of farming.  Agriculture is throwing off about twice as much cash as it did just four years ago,” Piller told Rock Center correspondent Harry Smith.

That means farmland is more valuable than ever. Realtor Jason Smith has lived in Iowa his entire life and has never seen land prices as high as they are right now. “You got a 32 percent increase in the price of land over the last 12 months.  That’s historic,” said Smith. Smith owns a company called Dreamdirt. Standing in the midst of a 9-acre field, Smith estimated the field was worth $45,000. “I sell farmland, real estate, stuff that people dream about.  I’ve always said, I think everybody’s got a little bit of farmer in them,” Smith said.

People are visiting Iowa from around the country, hoping to buy into the farm life. “There isn’t a kind of person that I haven’t heard from somewhere, whether it’s the farmers from North
Dakota, whether it’s a police officer from New York, bankers in Chicago and attorneys from the south.

People, and especially business owners that have cash to park, are bringing it up here to Iowa, bringing it up to the Midwest,” Smith said. New Yorker Patrick Goetz is among those hoping to buy land. “This is God’s country out here. This is just something I would just enjoy to retire out here, live the rest of my life.  I would love to get into farming,” said Goetz, a police officer. Goetz said that he previously invested in the stock market, but feels land is a more stable investment. “You get some income off of this.  You have income generated every day by renting the tillable ground out. It’s a great investment,” Goetz said.

Long-time farmers are buying their neighbors’ farms, land that they thought would never be for sale. “We buy land as fast as we can afford it,” Jay Mennenga said. Brothers Marlyn and Jay Mennenga recently purchased 76 acres, bringing the total acres they farm to 5000 acres. A good portion of the new land was paid for in cash. “You got to push a pencil before you spend the money.  You got to know how you’re going to pay for it and it’s basically, farming’s a business like any other business,” Jay Mennenga said.  “You got to have a game plan.”

Auctioneers are selling an acre of land for as much as $20,000, said auctioneer Jeffrey Obrecht.  Obrecht has been an auctioneer for over 20 years and says the prices today make a “once in a lifetime deal.” “Last year, I did about, little over 5,000 acres for about $24 million,” Obrecht said.

Life on the farm wasn’t always so good. Tim Meyer, a fourth-generation farmer, has grown up seeing the highs and lows of land prices. Meyer’s father once lost two farms during the 1980s when interest rates soared and land prices dropped.  “When I went to school, when I was 5 years old, there were 44 full-time farmers, that’s all they did,” said the 35-year-old Meyer.  “When I graduated, there were four full-time farmers left.” While Meyer also works as a realtor, helping others sell their farms, he’s not willing to sell his own land. “I think the mentality is that the farmer has become wealthy overnight,” Meyer said.  “Are those farmers really going to sell that ground? You know, I don’t think any farmer, especially any of my ancestors, really did it because of the pure fact to make money.  It’s a way of life. It’s a way to raise a family.  It’s somewhat of a legacy.  It’s much more important to me to pass on my family farm to the next generation than it would ever be to sell it.”

Meyers said that farm heirs that have no interest in farming are often the ones selling the lucrative dirt. “Most of the farms that we’re seeing sold are estates and basically, what I’ve seen more than anything is the farms that are being sold, the heirs don’t have any farming interest.  So, they’re taking them to auction or selling them privately or whatever means they chose there,” Meyer said.
The worry for some is that the high land prices are part of a bubble that will soon burst. “I don’t have a crystal ball,” Meyer said.
“We’re in times that we’ve never been in before, number one.  So are we in a bubble…I don’t know,” he said.

Piller of The Des Moines Register said that the farmers who are buying up their neighbor’s land usually have to put 40 to 50 percent down on a farm loan. “So these are not sub-prime loans that they’re making out here.  This is not like the same thing.  Farmers have the cash to do it,” Piller said. Piller said that small community banks that traditionally lend to farmers are reporting soft loan demand. “So the bankers say that if you have, if it’s a bubble, it probably won’t be on the lending side,” Piller said.  “It may very well be, would be, on the manufacturing side because Iowa is one of the few states to show an increase in manufacturing jobs.” Still, Piller says people are buying with urgency. “Farmland doesn’t come on the market that often.  It’s not like urban real estate where you see signs in the neighborhoods all the time.  A good piece of farmland may only come, become available once every 50 years,” Piller said.

Editor’s Note: Harry Smith’s full report, ‘Field$ of Dream$,’ airs Monday, January 2 at 10 pm/9c on Rock Center with Brian Williams.

Listen and view the original story by clicking here.

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Winter is here?

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Al Engstrom

Well the weather hasn’t been too bad in northeast South Dakota. Very little snow so far and mild temps. Hunting seasons are winding down with the pheasant hunting still having a couple of weeks left.

Noticed yesterday the first ice fishermen venturing out on the lakes and ponds to start that out for the year. Reports of 4″ to 5″ of good ice on some lakes and open water on others. Should be a great year for ice fishing as the heavy snow amounts has kept it down the last couple of years. Can almost taste those fresh walleye and pearch fillets!!

Happy Holidays to all!

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Fall For Northern Pike

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Tony Valnes

by Bob Jensen, The Outdoor Magazine (November 2011)

Many anglers look forward to the outstanding fishing action that is available in the fall season. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are popular targets in many areas. Bass are equally popular in the Midwest, as are walleyes, perch, crappies, and even muskies. A species of fish that’s often overlooked, but can be very accessible in the fall are northern pike. Anglers can catch lots of small northern pike throughout the year, but oftentimes the truly big ones are hard to find. October and early November can be a great period of time to catch northern pike that qualify as trophies.

The reason that really big pike are rare catches in most waters where they live is that most anglers don’t fish where the big ones live. First of all, you need to be on big fish water. The best lakes will be the deeper, clearer waters. Throughout the summer months the big pike often suspend over deep water and feed on oily, suspended baitfish in these bodies of water. Most anglers who chase pike in the summer fish in vegetation that might hold the big ones in the spring, but are mostly void of big fish the rest of the year. If you want to increase your odds of catching a big pike in the next few weeks, here’s what you need to do.

Fall PIkeIn the fall, those baitfish that the pike were feeding on over deep water have moved shallow to spawn. They spawn on gravel or sand shallows that are close to deep water. If you want to catch big pike, you need to find where the baitfish are spawning. By the way, walleyes and muskies will be in the same areas. This time of year, big fish are feeding where the big bait is.

Cabbage weed beds that are still green and close to deep water and that are close to the baitfish spawning areas will hold pike. So will rocky points that are windblown and extend into deep water. If you fish areas like this, you’ll be fishing near big fish.

You’ll want to throw big baits for big pike. It’s really tough to beat a Bionic Bucktail Spinner, an in-line spinner, or a Bionic Bucktail Spinnerbait, a spinnerbait with an overhead blade. Both are magnum sized baits that appeal to magnum sized pike(and muskies).

Throw these baits with gear capable of handling big baits and for setting the hook into big fish. A heavy action casting rod in the seven foot range works well, although some folks like a longer rod. There a couple of Fenwicks and Abu Garcia Veritas rods that will do the job nicely. Team them with an Abu Garcia Revo with appropriate line capacity or a 6600C4. FireLine Braid in the 50/12 size would be a good choice, but a size heavier or lighter will work well also. This line is a good choice because it casts well and provides great hooksets. Be sure to back off on the drag just a little. You want it to give a bit on the hookset.

Truly big northern pike are pretty rare. I like to net them and get them back in the water as quickly as possible to insure a successful release. Frabill’s Big Kahuna net will do a good job and will be appreciated when that big musky hits. If you’re employing this tactic for pike on waters where muskies live, you will eventually have a musky on the end of your line.

For a change of pace in your fall fishing, if you’re on a body of water that is deep and clear, give northern pike a chance. This is a great time to catch a really big one.

To see all the newest episodes of Fishing the Midwest television, visit fishingthemidwest.com or MyOutdoorTv.com.

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South Dakota Oil Boom?

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Greg Smeenk

HARDING COUNTY —  South Dakota auctioned off some 67,000 acres of public land in Harding and Butte counties earlier this month — one of the largest oil based public land sales in the state’s recent history. One hundred and eighty six of the 189 lots were scooped up by Bedrock Oil and Gas of Boerne, Texas. Could this mean the state is on the edge of a North Dakota-like oil boom?

At this point the most responsible answer is “maybe.”  Bedrock Oil and Gas have chosen to keep their intentions to themselves at this point. But they certainly didn’t buy all that land for a hunting ranch.

“Basically I view the land lease by Bedrock as a speculative kind of activity,” said South Dakota State Geologist Derric Iles. Iles says there are a number of geologic units buried under the northwest corner of the state that contain unexplored potential. One of these is the Minnelusa formation, which North Dakotans call the Tyler formation. Same rock unit, different name.

“The Tyler (Minnelusa in South Dakota) formation is one of the units most recently shown to be productive, regarding hydrocarbons, in North Dakota,” Iles said. “Parts of the Minnelusa are shale, like North Dakota’s rich Bakken and Three Forks formations, which are largely responsible for the state’s number four ranking in domestic oil production.”

The Bakken and Three Forks formations are also responsible for North Dakota’s nearly $1billion budget surplus and 3.5 percent unemployment rate, the lowest in the country.

Iles explained that nearly all the geologic formations at the source of North Dakota’s tremendous oil and gas related economic boom also underlie northwestern South Dakota. But he was quick to point out a fundamental difference between those formations as they lie in South Dakota and the very same formations in North Dakota, Montana and Canada.

“Those states have the deeper portions of what we call the Williston Basin. As you come into South Dakota all the rock in it has become progressively shallower,” Iles said. “Almost without exception the necessary testing of these shallower rock units has not occurred, therein lies our unexplored potential. Any exploratory effort, let alone any effort to produce oil, is an expensive endeavor. Just to explore it will cost some considerable dollars.”

Exploration. In all likelihood that’s what’s going to go down on Bedrock’s new land. The Texas company won’t confirm it, if indeed that is their plan. But Randy Coleman, landman for Bedrock, did confirm two things, one: that exploring for oil isn’t as easy as it looks on the “Beverly Hillbillies” and two: that his phone has been ringing off the hook since the Associated Press ran an article on Bedrock’s purchase late last week.

“People are just flipping out, they need to catch their breath and just let this thing kind of evolve. It takes time to drill for oil and gas, it just doesn’t come popping out everywhere you put a hole in the ground,” he said. “You won’t know (what’s under northwest South Dakota) until you have exploration people, who I represent, do the follow up work.”

That follow up work would include collecting and interpreting seismic reflection data to look for potential trapped hydrocarbons and, if the data appears lucrative, drilling exploratory holes.

“I was with Texas Gas and Oil in 1980, and what we’re talking about right here, we did the same thing back then,” Coleman said. “What we called it back then was ‘trend acerage.’ In other words, you just kind of have a geological idea in a geologist’s head. And with that you just go out and ‘buy the whole world’  kind of thing with nothing to back it up, thinking that somewhere along the line you’re going to come back, shoot some seismic, do some well control and put some prospects together. It’s no different now than it was in 1980.”

Coleman did offer that Bedrock Oil and Gas is an exploration company “that has the capability and expertise to prove up any basin on the face of the earth.”

Iles stressed that he and the state geological survey were uncertain as to exactly what’s under the surface of the land Bedrock purchased as far as hydrocarbons were concerned.

At this point any oil and gas exploration in the area is just as likely to yield a boom as it is a bust. “What you’re looking at is, you saw a successful state sale that stimulated a little bit of the economy of South Dakota,” Coleman said. “We’re at the embryonic phase of an exploratory effort and people ought to just catch their breath until somebody goes in there and drills some wells. I hope that South Dakota turns into something similar to North Dakota, because it’s really helped out some good people to make a living.”

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Farm, Ranch, Hunting & Recreational Properties For Sale

Posted on November 2, 2011 by DakotaProperties

Browse through our updated interactive property journal and keep up to date on all of our farm, ranch, hunting and recreational properties for sale in South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Minnesota.

View Interactive Property Journal.

Posted in Dakota Properties, Farmland, Fishing, Hunting, Land For Sale, Pheasant Hunting, Recreation, South Dakota Real Estate For Sale | Leave a comment

The Ten Commandments of Shooting Safety

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Luke Schuetzle

As hunting season of deer, geese and pheasant starts in South Dakota, it is important for all of us to remember some basic shooting safety tips.

Below is the Ten Commandments of Shooting Safety.

1. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. Do not point a firearm or bow at anything you do not intend to shoot. Control the direction of the muzzle at all times. Never rest a muzzle on your toe or foot. Keep your finger out of the trigger guard until the instant you are ready to fire. Always keep the safety on until ready to fire; however, the safety should never be a substitute for safe firearm handling.

2. Trust every firearm or bow with the same respect you would show a loaded gun or nocked arrow. Every time you pick up a firearm, the first thing you do is check to see if it is loaded. Be sure the chamber and magazine are empty and that the action is open until ready to be fired. If you do not understand how to determine if it is loaded, do not accept the firearm until someone has safely shown you that it is unloaded. Read your instruction manual carefully before you handle new firearms or bows.

3. Be sure of your target and what is in front of and beyond your target. Before you pull the trigger you must properly identify game animals. Until your target is fully visible and in good light, do not even raise your scope to see it. Use binoculars! Know what is in front of and behind your target. Determine that you have a safe backstop or background. Since you do not know what is on the other side, never take a shot at any animals on top of ridges or hillsides. Know how far bullets, arrows and pellets can travel. Never shoot at flat, hard surfaces, such as water, rocks or steel because of ricochets.

4. Unload firearms and unstring conventional bows when not in use. Leave actions open, and store sporting arms in cases when traveling to and from shooting areas. Take bolts out or break down shotguns if necessary. Know how your equipment operates. Store and transport firearms and ammunition separately and under lock and key. Store firearms and bows in cool, dry places. Use gun or trigger locks and guards when not in use.

5. Handle the firearms, arrows and ammunition carefully. Avoid horseplay with firearms. Never climb a fence, a tree or a ladder with a loaded firearm or bow and arrows. Never jump a ditch or cross difficult terrain with a loaded firearm or nocked arrow. Never face or look down the barrel from the muzzle end. Be sure the only ammunition you carry correctly matches the gauge or caliber you are shooting. Always carry arrows in a protected cover or quiver. Learn the proper carries. Try to use the two-hand carry whenever possible because it affords you the best muzzle control. Always carry handguns with hammers over an empty chamber or cylinder. If you fall, be sure to disassemble the gun and check the barrel from the breech end for obstructions. Carry a field cleaning kit.

6. Know your safe zone-of-fire and stick to it. Your safe zone-of-fire is that area or direction in which you can safely fire a shot. It is “down range” at a shooting facility. In the field it is that mental image you draw in your mind with every step you take. Be sure you know where your companions are at all times. Never swing your gun or bow out of your safe zone-of-fire. Know the safe carries when there are persons to your sides, in front of, or behind you. If in doubt, never take a shot. When hunting, wear daylight fluorescent orange so you can be seen from a distance or in heavy cover.

7. Control your emotions when it comes to safety. If you lose control of your emotions you may do something carelessly. If you have just shot a target or animal you probably will be excited. At that moment you may turn with a loaded firearm back towards your friends or you might run with a loaded firearm towards a downed animal with the gun safety off. You or someone else may be in danger once you lose control of your emotions. Show discipline. Rehearse in your mind what the safe actions will be. Do not allow your daydreams to prelace good judment. Show restraint and pass up shots which have the slightest chance of being unsafe.

8. Wear hearing and eye protection. While shooting at the range, you must wear hearing and eye protection at all times. Firearms are loud and can create noises which are damaging to a person’s hearing. It can be a gradual loss of hearing due to outbursts of noise over many years. The damage could also be immediate, especially if your ears are next to a muzzle blast. Vibrations from the blast are enough to create loss of hearing. Wear glasses to protect your eyes from escaping gases, burnt powder (especially in blackpowder shooting), and other debris.

9. Don’t drink alcohol or take drugs before or while handling firearms or bow and arrows. Alcohol and drugs impair normal physical and mental body functions and mustn’t be used before or while handling firearms or archery equipment. These substances affect emotions, making it easier to lose control.

10. Be aware of additional circumstances which require added caution or safety awareness. Just because something isn’t listed under these “ten commandments of shooting safety” doesn’t mean you can ignore it if it is dangerous. There may be rules such as in muzzleloading or archery or posted at a shooting range which should also be followed. Also, practice reloading safety by following and reading all specific instructions. Practice all commandments of shooting safety. Ensure a safe future for you, others and the shooting sports!

For more information please check out www.gamecalls.net.

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Whitetail Real Estate

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Rich Alkire

Taken  from the October 2011 issue of North American Whitetail magazine the following is part of an article titled  “Whitetail Real Estate” by Steve Felgenhauer.

If you have a little grey around your temples, you can probably recall driving up to a farmer’s homestead, walking up to the door and asking permission to hunt.  Back then, hunting rights were handed out like Halloween candy and the concept of leasing – let alone buying – recreational property had yet to take hold.

Today, both are big business, but in a tough economy, how are they faring?  The answer might surprise you. Dan Perez, co-owner of Whitetail Properties, a real estate brokerage firm specializing in hunting property, claims business is good.

TODAY’S BUYERS

In today’s economy, it’s sometimes difficult to identify a recreational property buyer. “It’s a mixed bag, Perez said.  “We see entities, a group of guys who have formed an LLC for the purpose of purchasing land and leveraging their numbers for buying power.  However, the majority of the buyers are the average guys looking for some property for a place to enjoy or a retirement place.  A new breed of buyers are those who don’t hunt or plant crops.  All they care about is the return on investment,” Perez explained. “Whitetail Properties helps these investors find farmer tenants and hunter tenants to lease the hunting rights for a better return on their investment.”

Perez claimed people are becoming more creative at financing properties.  “In good economic periods people buy using conventional financing – 20 percent down and finance the remaining balance.  Today, many buyers are using contracts for deed and self-directed IRAs and 401Ks to buy properties.”

RECORD BOK & LAND PRICES

The states that bring top dollar per acre reads much like the Boone & Crockett record book.  Illinois, Indiana and Ohio are at the top of the list.  Iowa and Missouri would run neck and neck in the middle followed closely by Kansas and Oklahoma, which are still solidly in the top 10 states.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

When looking to buy a piece of property with the goal of using it for hunting, Perez offered these tips.

  • Keep the highest and best use of the property in mind.  Ask yourself, “yes, it is good hunting property, but would it make a good home site, or could you grow crops on it?  What about livestock?  Does it have access to utilities, or is it convenient to other roads?”  “Some properties are so far removed from everything that hunting is its only use,” Perez said, “and if you choose to sell the property, unless you can find a like-minded buyer, you might not have made the best investment possible. “Whereas, if it has multiple uses, it can be marketed as such and you can get a better price for the property.”
  • Do a little leg work.  Check into the fertility of the soil and the maturity and quality of the timber, as well as the future timber it will produce.
  • Perhaps the most important factor to consider as a whitetail hunter when valuing a piece of property is the quality of the animals that inhabit the property. When Perez is filming his shows and he arrows a large-racked buck and sees other quality bucks on a property, interest in this property peaks because an all-important question is answered:  Is the property overhunted? “If we feature a property we are hunting on the show and film some big old bucks, the phone rings off the hook because people are able to actually witness the quality and the age structure of the deer that property has to offer,” Perez said.
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Harvest Under Way

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Al Engstrom

Harvest is going full bore now in NE South Dakota. The soybeans are mostly off and the farmers are going right to the corn. I have heard yields on the beans running from 40 to 50 bushels per acre. Corn is all over the board from 100 to 200 bushels per acre but not much drying expenses this year with all the hot, dry, windy conditions we have had the last several weeks.

This weekend will bring a flood of ORANGE into our fields with the traditional opening weekend of pheasant hunting. Hunters should find adequate birds and much easier to hunt this year than last with more of the crops off and NO MUD!!

GOOD LUCK !

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