Alberta for sale

[Horse]

Has anyone else heard about the gov selling the grazing leases. The neibor that has a lease says everyone with a lease will get a letter offering to sell I dont know the details yet but you can be sure I will be asking questions tomorrow when the gov offices get back to work .
How he explaned it is they will be put up for bid with the present holder getting to meet the highest offer , sounds like the last time some of the lease holders wanted some choice parcels and when they got what they wanted they shut down the program.
You gust got to love alta politics. A>K>A>Ralph and co

[bombay_43]

Just for you Horse! We received a letter from AB. Sustainable resource Development, dated July 23, 2004, which states:

“Farm Development and Grazing Leaseholders:

I am pleased to announce that the Alberta government has approved the Farm Holdings consolidation Program for public land under existing agricultural lease. This initiative will further diversify and strengthen the agricultural industry.

As always, leaseholders still have the choice to request a sale of their leased land or to continue leasing the land. Leaseholders are not obliged to make any of their leased land available for sale.

This initiative will allow holders of long-term Grazing Leases and Farm Development Leases in the White Area (settled area) an opportunity to match the highest bid in a public tender of up to one section (640 acres) of their leased land. The upset (minimum) price for the tender will be based on 85 percent of the appraised value, which reflects sales of comparable farmland in the same area.

As applications are received, Sustainable Resource Development will consult with other resource management agencies to determine if the land is suitable for sale. Land will not be sold if it is needed for conservation or other Alberta government programs. Alberta remains committed to effective integrated public land management.

The enclosed Question and Answer sheet provides details of the program.

For more information, contact your local Public Lands and Forests Division office. Information about office locations is available on Sustainable Resource Development’s website at http://www3.gov.ab.ca/srd/land/c_1.html or by calling (780) 427-3595 (310-0000 toll-free).


Sincerely,

Mike Cardinal
Minister
MLA for Athabasca/Wabasca Constituency “


I did not type out the question and answers sheet, as there are 3 pages. Ask away, and I will check if the question is on the pages provided!

[Horse]

This sounds like the same program that was used before to let a few choice properties be sold. Why is it coming up again have you (bombay) or anwone you know been asking for such a program .
Of corse I dont trust any politicions but I smell a rat somewhere in this .

[bombay_43]

Horse, I believe that the government has a can of worms here, that they really do not know how to handle. (my own opinion) They want to please both recreation users, and lease holders, and can not find an easy out. We have a 30 year conservation agreement with Ducks Unlimited, so our lease does not qualify. If it did, we would not request the sale of it during these high land prices. We simply could not afford it.

Question 1. on the paper states:
"HOW DOES THIS INTITIATIVE COMPLEMENT THE WAY AGRICUTLTURAL PUBLIC LAND IS CURRENTLY SOLD IN ALBERTA?

Public land has always ben avilable for sale if it is determined to be suitable. It was always up to leaseholders to request the sale of leased land. After a land appraisal, it was sold to the highest bidder through a public auction with no restriction on the amount of land the leaseholder could request to be sold.

The Farm Holdings Consolidation Program means leaseholders now have the opportunity to match the highest bid for the sale of up to one section of the land they lease. This involves only minor adjustments to the current public land sale policy. It will not involve any legislative or regulatory changes."

[bombay_43]

Sorry about the spelling mistakes! If you, or anyone else would like a copy of the question and answers, I would be happy to fax it to you.

[cowman]

So what happens if a leaseholder decides he actually needs to own this land and elects to sell it? But if it is popular recreation land what guarantee does he have that some wealthy doctor or lawyer won't buy it for a playground?
There is no money in cows right now even if you got the grass for free...so how do you compete against someone who makes more in a month than you do in a year?
Maybe though, in the big picture, that would be a good thing? It certainly seems to be what our various governments want? Get rid of the farmer? Especially the young farmer?

[WoolyBear]

How does this work? <IS> The government offering it for sale, or is it only for sale if the current leasor wants to buy it?
And if he want's to buy it, is it at his price, or market value? I'am not from Alberta so none of this makes sense.

Either case, I wonder if Cargill and the boys of kind are looking to get a bunch of land in a hurry to put their rumored cow herds on?

[bombay_43]

The holders of Farm Development Leases and Grazing Leases must have held the leases on the application lands for at least 3 years, and must be in good standing to be eligible to apply. Land sale will be by public tender, with an opening minimum bid price for the tender based on 85% of the appraised value, which reflects sales of comparable farmland in the same area.

The leaseholder pays a $53.50 non refundable cost to apply, as well as a lease amendment fee of $26.75 per application. The lease holder is also required to pay half the cost of a real estate appraisal by an accredited appraiser and half the cost of any evaluations that are required to review the land'’ suitability for sale. (e.g. biophysical survey, sand and gravel inventory) that are contracted by Sustainable Resource Development. It there is merchantable timber on the land, the timber may be harvested before sale. If it cannot be harvested in a reasonable time, the value of the timber will be included in the startup price!

The leaseholder will be given a 30 minute time limit at the opening of the bids, to decide if they want to match the maximum bid received on this land. If the leaseholder chooses to match the highest bid, they must provide a deposit cheque for 10% of the minimum price on the spot, with the balance payable within 30 days, with no financing available from the government for this venture.

If the leaseholder does not buy the land, they can recover movable improvements such as fencing or arrange to sell them to the purchaser. Fixed improvements are owned by the landowner (government) and included in the land value. The leaseholder is eligible for reimbursement of a portion of the value of the fixed improvements carried out within the last five years. Land development is a type of fixed improvement.

So I guess anyone wanting compensation for clearing land, and making dugouts, on this land, more than 5 years ago, are “S” out of luck!

During the duration of a lease, the government, determines how much land and what land, can be cleared, and how many animals you can graze on the land. They always tried to make enough forested areas for our wildlife to have a habitat as well. (eg. No clearing within so many feet of a body of water) It sounds to me, like they wish to **** and plunder the land, before turning it over to individuals as deeded land. What happened to looking after our wildlife? Even after it becomes deeded, the wildlife needs to go on!

I don’t forsee any farmers removing miles and miles of fencing if the new owner refuses to buy it! Maybe I’m wrong

[Horse]

Bombay are you sure that program has been in effect all along I have not seen any listings for sale but there are sure more leases beeing offered up for lease lately or have I been reading the adds wrong.
And why the letters being sent out now.

[bombay_43]

Horse, the first I heard of any of this was these letters. A few years ago a program came out which allowed lease holders to apply to purchase their lease. We were told at that time, because of the conservation agreements we had signed with regards to ours, it was not eligible. These new question and answer sheets confirm that as well.

With regards to whether or not public lands has always been availaable for sale, I can only tell you what the question and answer sheet states. It states: " Public land has always been available for sale if it is determined to be suitable."

It is not something we much looked into because our lease was not eligible.