Farms rise again on acres where houses were planned

[Stephane Dumas]

Article from http://www.startribune.com/business/161867185.html

The pavement comes to an abrupt end on Lenox Drive in Waconia's Waterford development, new houses segueing to farmland.

Only 40 percent of Waterford -- about 60 acres -- was developed before the housing market imploded. Land slated for new houses went back to the Waconia farmer who had long owned it, some of it repurchased at a fraction of the lofty prices developers originally paid.

Sell high, buy back low -- it has become a winning investment strategy for some farmland owners in recent years.

Housing developers vacuumed up farmland in Twin Cities exurbs and nationwide during the housing boom, only to see demand for homes vanish. Now, with housing still struggling and agriculture booming, some dead developments are sprouting crops again.

The farming boom is a "silver lining" to the housing bust, said Keith Kern, assistant county assessor in Carver County. Granted, farms don't produce as much tax revenue per acre as houses do. But "it's better to see some part of the market increase as opposed to everything going into the tank."

Farmland demand has soared in tandem with historically high crop prices. For farmers scrapping for space, some land that seemed destined for housing just a few years ago now has more value for farm use.

Data are scarce, but the assessors' offices for Carver, Scott and Wright counties -- all bridges between city and country -- report instances of prospective development sites moving back to farmland. The same sort of shift has been occurring nationwide.