American Land Magazine

3 3 Editor: Austin Hall Designer: Justin Bruschi Associate Editor: Patrick Lamb Copy Editor: Patrick Lamb Photography: Amber Blaeser, Clay Cooke, Jordan Williams, Paul Johns, Sean Fahrendorf, Wes Haertling, Adam Darnell, Brandon Steckel, Tim Jackson, Ryan Hill, Addie Rodhouse Listing Photography: Courtesy of Whitetail Properties Agents Production: Jesse Poor For general inquiries or advertising, email info@whitetailproperties.com. Whitetail Properties Real Estate, LLC. 121 South Madison Street Pittsfield, IL 62363 (217) 285-9000 WhitetailProperties.com About Whitetail Properties: Founded in 2007, Whitetail Properties Real Estate has exploded into North America's top place to buy and sell recreational hunting, ranch and farm land. This fact was cemented last year with more than $1.3 billion in sales and being named one of "America's Best Brokerages" by The Land Report for the ninth year in a row. Whitetail Properties has expanded operations into 34 states and counting, enlisting a staff of hard-working, knowledgeable and passionate Land Specialists. The team currently averages six farms sold every day throughout the year. Whitetail Properties reaches more than 24 million households nationally with Whitetail Properties TV, an award – winning show on The Sportsman Channel that showcases the benefits of owning recreational real estate. To browse prime hunting and farmland currently for sale or to contact a Whitetail Properties Land Specialist, visit WhitetailProperties.com. Copyright 2020 Whitetailproperties.com. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without expressed written permission from the publisher. AMERICAN LAND magazine is published by Whitetail Properties Real Estate, LLC., 121 S. Madison Street, Pittsfield, Illinois. Information provided to whitetailproperties.com is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. The publisher will not be responsible for any omissions, errors, typographical mistakes, or misinformation within this publication. Measurements and figures may be approximates. Properties are subject to errors, prior to change or sale. This magazine and Whitetail Properties Real Estate will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All dwellings advertised in this magazine are available on an equal opportunity basis. The real estate advertised in this magazine is subject to the Federal Housing Act of 1968 and its amendments. On July 4, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln told the nation the purpose of America's government was "to elevate the condition of men, to lift artificial burdens from all shoulders and to give everyone an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life." He followed through with the passage of the Homestead Act, which remained active for 124 years. This act resulted in the claim and settlement of 270,000 acres. President Lincoln's signing of the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862 granted Americans 160-acre plots of public land for the price of a small filing fee. The Civil War era act, considered one of the United States' most important pieces of legislation, led to Western expansion and allowed folks of all walks of life, including former slaves, women and immigrants, the opportunity to become landowners. The incentive to move and settle on the western territory was open to all U.S. citizens, and resulted in 4 million homestead claims! The primary states settled were Montana, followed by North Dakota, Colorado and Nebraska. The act would later be repealed in 1976. During a speech made in Ohio in February 1861, Lincoln said the act was "worthy of consideration, and that the wild lands of the country should be distributed so that every man should have the means and opportunity of benefiting his condition." I'm sure there were many during those days that said, "I wish I would have staked a claim on a tract of land back when it was free." At Whitetail Properties we hear people say, "I wish I would have when" almost every day. However, they're not talking about back in eighteen-hundreds, they're talking about 10-years ago, 5-years ago, 1-year ago, last month, or even yesterday. Well, now Whitetail Properties has embarked on its own Western Expansion! The economy is strong, interest rates and land prices are stable and affordable. Do you know how rare an occurrence this is? Clearly making this a period when people will one day look back and say, "I wish I would have purchased land in 2020 when interest rates and land values were so low," Hence, we are very excited to now be able to provide the good folks in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon, the same land buying and selling experience that we have provided throughout most of the United States. As Horace Greeley once said, "Go west young man!" As cliché as it sounds, "God is not making any more land!" However, the human population continues to reproduce and proliferate, thus putting more pressure on the land for food and housing. In order to just keep up with this human proliferation, suburbs are stretching further out into the country everyday causing a reduction in the amount of land on which farmers can plant row crops, fruit trees, vegetables, graze cattle and other livestock, as well as a host of other agricultural goods. Meanwhile, soil erosion is consuming millions of acres of production ground resulting from wind, water and farming. Not to mention, the growing need for timber, minerals, and recreation. This is a quintessential example of a diminishing supply and an increasing demand! Based on the present rate of interest, the economy, land prices, we are at the apex of an "I wish I would have when" period, right now. However, while buying land is a very solid and judicious investment, I believe the true ROI is measured by memories. Memories like how excited Montana Broker Aaron Milliken's boy was when he caught a five pound rainbow trout in a beautiful mountain valley stream. What about when he harvested his first bull elk on the back 40; whew, he was so happy he could hardly talk. I imagine Aaron and his family will never forget that weekend when they found 5 giant elk sheds and 11 mule deer antlers. Good times and memories shared with our family and friends on our very own slice of heaven is a huge additional investment benefit of land that no stock, bond, silver or gold speculation could ever rival. Dan Perez, Whitetail Properties CEO WELCOME TO AMERICAN LAND

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