Gunfighter

Farmland investing has been a peripheral interest for several years and I'd love to learn more. Do you do direct acquisition of farm land or buy via syndications like Acre Trader? If direct acquisition, how do you handle the management?

BCan

I grew up on a farm. So, it’s straight forward for me…i give my dad some money when land becomes available. A close relative rents the land and farms it.

what i can tell you…after taxes…farm land doesn’t cash flow well in the near term - the market is pretty efficient that way. You gotta be careful on your leverage as well…obviously harvests vary with weather and commodity prices year to year. However, it has appreciated…like everything else when money is easy to borrow…it’s crazy now. Midwest, per acre, around 13.5K. It’s the same type reasoning as alot of prime real estate…limited supply…and the demand will always be there for food.

warren buffet, gates, etc…they’ve bought alot of land. The older I get, the more I appreciate the value…across generations.

PM me your questions. I’ll run them by my dad…he’s forgotten more about farming than I’ll ever know…and he is a farm accountant in retirement…so he has some ag business insight I don’t know.

Gooner

Thanks for giving a complex answer with reasonable arguments, an internet rarity. I can find reason in the statement that having some has some merit.

But my issues with crypto currency is based a bit in your answer. While I agree that fiat currency has failed throughout history I’m not sure I’d agree that all will. The British Pound has survived for 500ish years. Has it changed, lost its place at the top, sure. But people will still trade it for stuff and services. Currency is actually about trust. The currency is the confidence in the economic system behind it. The reason the dollar is where it is in the world economy is that everyone can agree on the American economy to continue to be productive. And do so in the foreseeable future, to the point that they can give us the dollar back and get something in return.

The nature of crypto currency is the exact opposite at this point. By having multiple types of uncontrollable currencies, how can there be trust? Having a government back a currency is useful since the currency will always have value to at least its citizens since they can pay their taxes with the currency. If a crypto currency becomes untrusted, maybe via a hack or loss of block chain storage, I can’t give them away to anyone.

The requirement of internet connection is a major issue with a currency. Even a digitized economy has use for hard currency. Bringing back your point of human nature, if I can’t see or feel what I’m trading with there’s always a sense of doubt. Not to mention the opportunity for gaps in security. If the digital age has taught us anything, nothing truly is secure if it’s not completely closed circuit.

To me that’s why I have a hard time seeing a value in crypto. Is it a speculative investment in a limited commodity, sure, but so is art. It has a value, it’s just doesn’t check the marks of a truly trade able currency.

gloopy

True.

TyWebb

I was, and still am but less so, a bitcoin naysayer and agree with much of what Bcan said. I haven't read Dalio's empire but listened to a podcast where he pretty much covers the same amount of ground in 2 hours. He also has a condensed youtube video about the same. The problem with bitcoin is you need power and internet. In an event such as a real collapse of an empire and it's currency that may be an issue. Now, will it be there for you once things get better? Sure, but what about between collapse and recovery of some form.?

The pound has been fiat money since 1931, long before the dollar became fiat.

BCan

good stuff. I do appreciate a logical response.

minor clarification(s)…

BTC is world wide. We have a different perspective, since we live in the US and “enjoy” having the dollar’s reserve currency status. Not so in a third world country where people don’t have banking. Additionally, we really screw those people via inflation and remittance costs.

You can store BTC on a piece of paper. You need an internet connection to transact it. Ukraine as an example, if you are fleeing, your currency is collapsing, all you need is that copy of your private key and your wealth is there recorded on the ledger. Once you get an internet connection you have access. Some argue you cannot stop BTC unless you stop the internet - I tend to agree. I think this is interesting considering countries with hyperinflation.


BTC block chain has never been hacked…and from my research - will never be hacked until super computing is a thing. Then all current encryption is toast…so super computing encryption will be required. All the stories of BTC being stolen isn’t from the blockchain, it’s from unreliable custodians, those people never really “owned” the BTC because they didn’t control the key(s).

gloopy

Right. I obviously wasn't implying that it was invented as a named currency in 1971. That wasn't the point.

As for empire collapse, power and internet WRT Bitcoin, I'm not sure where you're going with that but it can (and has been) transacted via satcom and even HAM radio.

Nantonaku

So if the internet infrastructure collapsed tomorrow you think you’ll have access to your dollars? How? The bank doesn’t have access to your money without the net. They have no clue how much money you have if the system collapsed. What are you going to do bring them a bank statement? The Dollar relies on the same infrastructure as BTC.

Planetrain

Seems like crypto trading platforms and wallets get hacked all the time.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna7870

DeltaboundRedux

Serious question:

If crypto block chains become “hackable”, what happens to it’s value?

If there’s a non zero chance that it’s possible, you can bank on it happening eventually.