The 2011 LANDTHINK Summit held at Gwinnett Center in Georgia on September 29th was a great success. I, along with several colleagues, and many land-industry friends attended the event this year. All felt the time and effort spent on attendance was worthwhile. Numerous speakers helped attendees gain knowledge about the current state of the land market, those factors that are currently driving the market, and the direction it’s likely to head in. If you are employed in any industry related to land, this was a highly relevant and timely day spent in Duluth, Georgia.
Attendees came from the US and Canada, and as far away as Oregon to learn and to network with other professionals. Multiple land-industry professions were represented there. Agents, auctioneers, foresters, investors, TIMOs, REITS, fund managers, I.T. professionals, extension workers, Farm Credit…the list goes on. Real estate professionals and foresters were able to earn continuing education credits through their attendance at the Summit, which improves the value of the event even more. There were even numerous cash prizes for those in attendance, as well as a couple charity auctions during the day.
Dr. David Kohl, Virginia Tech Professor Emeritus of Ag Economics was the keynote speaker. If you missed his two sessions, you missed three of the most valuable continuing education hours you could ever spend. Dr. Kohl has a unique style that delivers highly valuable information to the listener, and keeps the listener very engaged. He spoke extensively on the global and national factors effecting the economy and land valuation. He also gave insight on price trends throughout the country, and throughout different classes of land. One of the best economic speakers I have ever had the opportunity to learn from…and I majored in Ag Economics in college. I will seek out opportunities to hear him in the future.
There were several other speakers from Farm Credit, banking, the forest industry, extension, and even a little humor. Ryan Folk, LANDTHINK Founder, delivered the results of the 2011 LANDTHINK Land Market Survey to the attendees. The information contained in this booklet would alone be worth the time and cost of attendance. It gauges the temperature of the national market in a way that I have seen no other survey do.
LANDTHINK.com is about sharing land knowledge with a public that is thirsty for practical, useful, and timely information regarding the in’s and out’s of land acquisition, ownership, management, marketing, and disposition. The contributors there are just as diversified and knowledgeable as the speakers at this year’s Summit. In the coming weeks, information from the Summit will be presented on LANDTHINK. Soak it up. Make sure you are in attendance at the next Summit. I look forward to meeting you there.
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