Skip to content
Jennysatthewharf

Jennysatthewharf

best property

Primary Menu
  • apartment
  • home improvement
  • downtown
  • buildings and land
  • Property and land
  • cheapest
  • About Us
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
  • Home
  • Farm life a tough ask with rising land prices and cost pressures adding to the strain
  • Property and land

Farm life a tough ask with rising land prices and cost pressures adding to the strain

By Janet M. Foster 11 months ago

[ad_1]

Wade von Stieglitz had a lucrative career in the gas industry but he gave it all up to follow his dreams. 

Key points:

  • Higher land prices, interest rates and other cost pressures are helping to push up food prices

  • Median farmland prices jumped 20 per cent in 2021, with the most expensive land in Tasmania and Victoria

  • First-time farmers are struggling to afford property that is large enough to make a living

He always wanted his own farm but when he looked at properties, the only place he could afford was far too small to support a family.

“It’s 70 acres but I wish it was 700, something that we could actually make a living off,” he said.

“There’s hopes and dreams and then there’s reality.”

Wade hopes his “starter” block at Sunnyside in Tasmania’s north-west will be the first step in building a full-time career as a farmer — but rapidly rising land prices will make future expansion incredibly tough.

“This place has gone up $400,000 in bloody two years,” he said.

“How do you compete with that, realistically, when there is no return whatsoever on a hobby farm like this?”

Land prices rising at an ‘alarming rate’

Just as sky-high property prices have made home ownership impossible for many Australians, first-time farmers are also being locked out of the market.

Poppie von Stieglitz on her dad Wade's farm property in Tasmania.
“Dad’s little helper” on the von Stieglitz family farm in Tasmania.(Facebook: Wade von Stieglitz)

Even members of well-established farming families are feeling the pinch, such as Alastair Bowman, whose family has tilled Tasmania since the 1800s.

“You’re competing against corporates now that have billions of dollars. You’re competing on a whole different level,” he said.

“So for someone that’s wanting that dream of their own place, that 100 acre block isn’t necessarily profitable. It’s something that’s more of a hobby as opposed to a full-time job.”

Land values are soaring to record heights across Australia, with year-on-year growth of more than 30 per cent in Western Australia (36.3), Queensland (31.3) and Victoria (30.4), according to the 2021 Rural Bank Australian Farmland Values report.

Tasmania has the highest median price in the nation at $14,730 per hectare, followed by Victoria at $10,583 and Queensland at $6,827.

Agricultural financial consultant Greg Bott has never seen the property market “so buoyant” in his four-decade career.

“Land prices are going up at an alarming rate and commodity prices are going with it,” he said.

Financial consultant Greg Bott stands near a livestock pen.
Financial consultant Greg Bott.(ABC News: Lachlan Bennett)

Record-low interest rates, high commodity prices, strong demand and favourable conditions have all fuelled eight consecutive years of increasing farm prices.

As prices rise, so has debt with the Australian agriculture sector owing more than $83 billion, up from $70 billion in 2016-17.

Rising interest rates will increase the cost of servicing that debt while limiting how much first-time farmers can borrow to get their foot in the door.

Cost pressures pile up

While rising interest rates have sparked fears that home owners will start defaulting on loans, Nutrien Harcourts Tasmania director Michael Warren doesn’t believe they will break the farmer’s back.

Poppie von Stieglitz with her dad Wade on the family farm.
The von Stieglitz family are determined to make a go of it.(Facebook: Wade von Stieglitz)

“Because we’ve had four or five pretty good years now, a lot of our farming enterprises here have paid off a lot of debt,” he said.

“Or they have reinvested in their farming property. So we’ve seen more water development, better equipment on farms.”

Mr Warren said a greater concern for farmers was the increasing cost of inputs such as fertiliser, which recorded a 128 per cent import price increase in 2021.

Mr Bott said the “pretty savage increase in costs” on the farm was pushing up food prices, and he expects “more to come”.

“Electricity, fertiliser, you name it. There’s been big cost increases at farm gate so they needed this lift in commodity prices just to cover that,” he said.

Brielle and Wade von Stieglitz with Elka and Poppie.
Brielle and Wade von Stieglitz, with Elka and Poppie.(ABC News: Lachlan Bennett)

Life on the land still worth the sacrifice

While Wade and his wife Brielle are wary of future financial pressures, they don’t regret chasing their dreams.

Brielle wants her children to have the same memories of life on the land that she made during visits to her grandparents’ farm.

“For children, it’s all the learning and growing and exploring that I love about being out on land,” she said.

“It does have its challenges. You’ve got late nights, especially in silage season, but at the same time, it’s nice for the girls to have their dad home.”

“When Wade was working away, we had sacrificed a lot of time together. So now we get to have that and he gets to be around for our children growing up.

“That’s the dream really.”

Wade von Stieglitz with one of his young daughters on his farm.
Wade von Stieglitz loves working his small farm with his young daughters.(ABC News: Lachlan Bennett)

Want more Tasmanian news?

Set the ABC News website or the app to “Tasmania Top Stories” from either the homepage or the settings menu in the app to continue getting the same national news but with a sprinkle of more relevant state stories.

Here’s a taste of the latest stories from Tasmania:  

Posted 2h ago2 hours agoSun 26 Jun 2022 at 2:19am, updated 2h ago2 hours agoSun 26 Jun 2022 at 2:57am

[ad_2]

Source link

Tags: J Beard Real Estate, J Michael Real Estate, J Philip Real Estate, J Real Estate Commission, J Real Estate Finance Econ, J Real Estate Inc, J Scott Real Estate, J&B Real Estate, K Real Estate Blenheim, K Real Estate Group, K Real Estate Group Cape Town, K Real Estate Llc, K Real Estate Logo, K Real Estate New Zealand, K Real Estate Specialists, K Real Estate Utah, L Brooks Real Estate, L Catterton Real Estate, L Cooper Real Estate, L Real Estate Lvmh, L&K Real Estate, L&M Real Estate, L&T Real Estate, L'Agence Real Estate, Real Estate Job Description, Real Estate Jobs In Memphis Tn, Real Estate Jobs Oxford Ms, Real Estate Jonesboro Ar, Real Estate Kalispell Mt, Real Estate Kauai, Real Estate Keller Williams, Real Estate Kentucky, Real Estate Key Lock Box, Real Estate Key West, Real Estate Knowledge, Real Estate Knoxville Tn, Real Estate Lawyer, Real Estate Lawyer Near Me, Real Estate License Arkansas, Real Estate License Memphis, Real Estate License Mississippi, Real Estate License Nashville, Real Estate Market, Real Estate Market 2022, Real Estate Mart, Real Estate Mart Of Tn, Real Estate Memphis, Real Estate Millington Tn, Real Estate Mississippi

Continue Reading

Previous Here’s How Much Money You’ll Keep After Selling a House
Next East Williamsburg, Brooklyn: A ‘Gritty, Industrial Vibe,’ With Pliable Borders
June 2023
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  
« May    

Archives

  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • January 2017

Recent Posts

  • Selling Your Home As FSBO – What You Need to Know
  • Tips to Cut Expenses During New Home Construction
  • Galloway Ohio Homes – A Wonderful Place to Live in Central Ohio
  • Commercial Law – Corporate Law – Joint Venture – Contractual Construction of Clause in Joint Venture
  • The Important Role of Commercial Roofing Contractors

BL

Tags

In Real Estate In Real Estate A Sales Associate Is Always In Real Estate License Lookup In Real Estate What Does Contingent Mean In Real Estate What Does Pending Mean In Real Estate What Does Under Contract Mean In Real Estate What Is An Adu In Real Estate What Is A Short Sale M Real Estate Group M Real Estate Group Albuquerque M Real Estate Hudson M Real Estate Logo M Real Estate Ltd M Real Estate Plan De La Tour M Real Estate Pointe Claire M Real Estate Reviews O'Brien Real Estate O'Connor Real Estate O'Dwyer Real Estate Management O'Neal Real Estate O'Neil Real Estate O Real Estate Etf O Real Estate Logo O Real Estate Meaning P Real Estate Agents P Real Estate Logo Real Estate Arlington Tn Real Estate Naics Code Real Estate Nashville Tn Real Estate Near Me Real Estate News Real Estate News Today Real Estate Nft Real Estate Offer Letter Real Estate Office Real Estate Office Jobs Real Estate Offices Near Me Real Estate Olive Branch Ms Real Estate Online Classes Real Estate Outlook 2022 Real Estate Oxford Ms Real Estate Panola County Ms Real Estate Photography Real Estate Photography Jobs Real Estate Practice Exam
jennysatthewharf.com | Magazine 7 by AF themes.

WhatsApp us