#239 - He Bought His First Farm Sight Unseen - And Doubled His Money On It with Ryan Kirby

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Ryan Kirby. We discuss: - Ryan explains why the North Carolina mountains grow Fraser fir Christmas trees and cattle, not row crops. - Ryan breaks down his Christmas tree sharecropping deal: he pays for land and inputs, the grower supplies labor. - Ryan has 27,000 trees on 20 acres, bought as $1.40 seedlings, with wholesale at $50 a tree this year. - Ryan figures the harvest pays off the $300,000 he paid for a 34-acre mountain hayfield and leaves $150,000. - Ryan explains why Christmas trees carry more risk than corn: no futures market, no storage, and an 8-year wait. - Ryan saves his input deductions for the harvest year so one big check doesn't become a huge tax bill. - Ryan recalls buying his first Hancock County 40 sight unseen for $117,000 and telling his wife at bath time. - Ryan explains why running a farm 40 minutes from his parents' place pushed him to buy ground a mile away. - Ryan used a 120-day close from the loggers who won an auction to 1031 his 40, which sold in a week for about $296,000. - Ryan shares Terry Drury's advice to never get emotional about a piece of land. And so much more! Chapters: 0:00 He bought his first farm sight unseen 0:53 Fall art season and coaching youth football 7:55 Why North Carolina grows Christmas trees 11:43 Penciling out 27,000 trees on 20 acres 21:50 Is the Christmas tree math too good to be true? 26:09 No futures market and no storing the crop 32:16 Buying his first Illinois farm sight unseen 36:49 How the first farm got his wife on board 40:12 Why the first farm got too far away 44:58 The auction he walked away from 50:45 Mennonite loggers, flip phones and the timber he missed 56:07 Terry Drury's advice: don't get emotional about land 1:00:23 Where to find Ryan Kirby Art Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! - Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding  -Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_  -OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt  -Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow  - Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/  - Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at [www.theprairiefarm.com](https://www.theprairiefarm.com) - Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net