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March 30, 2010 – Volume 5, Issue VII
Contents
 Check out our New Look – page 1
 Learn How to Do Appraisals for Eminent Domain! – page 1
 Career Center – New Position Listings Added – page 1
 Instructor Workshop – July 10, 2010 at Summer Ed Week – page 2
 Orlando Spotlight – page 2
 Sixth Annual Spring Conference Iowa Chapters ASFMRA & RLI Attracts Large Attendance –
page 2
 Latest Edition of LandOwner Newsletter – page 3
 THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson – page 3
 Update Your Calendar with the Latest Meetings and Education Schedule – page 5
Check Out Our New Look
The ASFMRA web site has under gone a major change. Take a moment to come and see our new
look...we're sure you'll love it. Check back regularly as more changes are coming soon, including the all
new AgProLink!
Learn How to Do Appraisals for Eminent Domain!
Eminent Domain (A250)
April 12-14, 2010 Denver, CO
or click here to learn more
A course designed to demonstrate techniques used in preparing value estimates on properties subject to
acquisition under Eminent Domain law. Students learn that condemnation appraising is different than
other types of appraising since the situations are hypothetical-not factual. Additionally, students explore
complications which may be encountered, e.g., severance damages, consequential damages, special and
general benefits, condemnation blight, project enhancement, and inverse condemnation. Case studies and
short examples are used to convey the basic procedures.
Career Center - New Position Listings Added
Looking for a new position? Have an open position and looking for the right candidate? Visit the Career
Center on the ASFMRA web site to see the new positions that recently been added. There is no charge to
list a position on the ASFMRA Career Center. If you wish to post a position, simply email the job details
to ccooley@asfmra.org.
March 30, 2010
ASFMRA Update, Volume 5, Issue VII
Page 1
Instructor Workshop – July 10, 2010 at Summer Education Week
ASFMRA will be offering an instructor workshop on July 10 at Summer Education Week in St. Louis,
MO. If you are a current ASFMRA instructor, a former instructor that would like to get involved again, or
someone brand new that would like to be considered for teaching for ASFMRA, you don’t want to miss
this opportunity.
More information will be coming with Summer Education Week information. If you have any questions
regarding the instructor workshop, contact Debe Alvarez at (303) 692-1225 or dalvarez@asfmra.org
Orlando Spotlight
November may sound like a long way off but it will be here sooner
than you think! Mark your calendars now to attend the 81st Annual
Meeting of ASFMRA in sunny Orlando, Florida November 1 - 4. 81
Years of Magic is the theme for this year’s meeting that will be held
at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. The program is nearly
complete, the ever-popular Pioneer Ag Tour is taking shape, and
you will soon have access to the full line-up of excellent speakers
and sessions being planned. This is one year you will definitely
want to consider making your trip to the annual meeting a Family
Event. With the many Disney Parks and other activities in and around Orlando, there is something for everyone.
From Disneyworld to Epcot and Sea World to the Kennedy Space Center, the possibilities are endless. Full details
with available options and links for special ticket packages will all be forthcoming. Keep watching for new
information on the ASFMRA website. And don’t worry – the Program Committee has incorporated ‘Disney
Discount Days’ into the meeting schedule! Watch for details to be coming your way soon.
Sixth Annual Spring Conference, Iowa Chapter(s) ASFMRA and RLI Attracts
Large Attendance
Reported by Larry D. Trede, Iowa Chapter, ASFMRA
The sixth annual spring conference sponsored jointly by the Iowa Chapter(s) ASFMRA and RLI was
held on March 23, 2010 in Ames. There were 113 ASFMRA and RLI members and guests registered
for this year's meeting. The 2010 meeting is the largest in terms of attendance over the past six years.
This year's meeting featured a wide variety of topics of interest to farm managers, real estate agents, rural
appraisers, lenders, and agricultural educators. Presentations were given by David Swenson, Iowa State
University, on the "The Iowa Economy in Difficult Times," David Kruse, Commstock Investments, on
"Managing for Profit and Risk in Iowa Agriculture in 2010." An update on Corn Suitability Ratings was
given by Lee Burras, Iowa State University, as well as the latest research on "Planning and
Implementation of Farm Drainage Tile" by Matt Helmers, Iowa State University. Chad Hart, Iowa State
University, briefed the group on "CAP and Trade Legislation -- What's Proposed and What Does It
Mean?" Troy Louwagie, Hertz Farm Management, released the latest information on the RLI Iowa Land
Values Survey conducted by the Iowa Chapter, RLI. Data showed at 2.8% increase in Iowa cropland
values from September, 2009 to March, 2010. A joint planning committee between the two chapters plans
the program each year. This meeting provides ASFMRA and RLI members with up-to-date information
on timely topics as well as networking among members of both organizations. The 2011 meeting will be
held on March 22, in Des Moines.
March 30, 2010
ASFMRA Update, Volume 5, Issue VII
Page 2
Latest Edition of LandOwner Newsletter
The March 25, 2010 edition of the LandOwner newsletter is now
available. Click on the LandOwner Link above and log into the
Member’s section with login (FirstLast) and password (Member ID #)
and then click on the LandOwner logo to link to the current issue –
published twice monthly.
Click here to log into your member account.
Please contact Jeremy at jlewis@asfmra.org or 303-692-1218 if you have any questions or need help logging in.
FYI, this login works for member access to the website for registering for classes or events as well as for updating
your member profile.
THE UN-COMFORT ZONE with Robert Wilson
Compelled by an Idea
I was leaving my last class for the day when I saw my friend, Ken Frankel, working out in the hallway with
one of those pistol-grip label makers. I stopped and asked what he was doing.
"The Dean asked me to put the room numbers up in Braille so the blind students can find their classrooms."
As I watched Ken work, I thought of some of the blind students I knew there at Georgia State University.
Suddenly the devil got into me and I asked, "Does that thing do the alphabet as well?"
"Yes." Ken replied.
"Excellent! Let's take it over to the men's restroom in the Student Center and put up some graffiti in
Braille!"
So we did. The next day we made a point of running into our blind friends, and asking them if they had
been keeping up with the graffiti that people were putting up in the stalls.
The typical answer was, "Come on man, why are you asking me that when you know I can't see it?"
So we replied, "Next time you're in there, feel above the toilet paper dispenser."
They did, and within 48 hours every blind student on campus had heard about it. Then they were after us to
put up some more! They told us, "This stuff is great!"
Feeling obligated to get some new material, we hit the bars for inspiration. One night we found the mother
lode: the men's room at Moe's & Joe's, a 50 year old pub where they never painted over the witticisms scrawled on
the walls.
Several mugs of beer and several trips to the restroom later, we filled several sheets of paper with funny
bathroom graffiti to take back with us. As we looked at our collection, we came to two conclusions: first that we'd
had way too much beer, and second that we should keep collecting graffiti until we had enough for a book.
Little did we know how long that would take! After a few days of active searching we had little to show for
our efforts. Somewhat frustrated, we made a decision to just collect new material whenever we happened upon it.
March 30, 2010
ASFMRA Update, Volume 5, Issue VII
Page 3
A decade passed, but it was an idea I couldn't forget. It still made me laugh every time I thought of it. I kept
the idea alive, and we kept collecting. Finally, 15 years later, our collection was big enough and we found a
publisher who agreed with us that it was a very funny idea.
Sometimes an idea is so exciting that we can't leave it alone. We have to see it to fruition. I've been
compelled by ideas to start new businesses, erect buildings, write novels, and even create new recipes.
My friend Jordan Graye, a radio personality in Atlanta, became energized by an idea when she learned that
the actual inventor of radio, Nikola Tesla, never got credit for it in his lifetime. Like many people in radio, she
believed that Gugliomo Marconi was the man who discovered it.
As she read more about Tesla, she learned that he was also the inventor of alternating current electricity the type of electricity that powers our homes and offices. She became incensed that history had forgotten this reallife Prometheus; and made it her mission to remind the world of his gifts.
She thought the best way to restore Tesla's fame would be in a film. That she had never made a movie
before (and knew next to nothing about making one), did not deter her one bit.
Jordan did her research and composed a story. She then hired writers, actors, camera operators, and lighting
people. She committed her time, energy and a sizable portion of her life savings to realizing her dream. Three years
later, MegaHertz was complete and Nikola Tesla's life revived.
What idea is motivating you? Are you working on it?
Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is a motivational speaker and humorist. He works with companies that want to be more
competitive and with people who want to think like innovators. For more information on Robert's programs please
visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com.
----------- Publishing Information ---------This article is offered free of charge on a nonexclusive basis. The copyright is retained by Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. You may
reprint or post this material, as long as my name (Robert Evans Wilson, Jr.) and contact information
(www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com) are included. If you publish it, please send a copy to Jumpstart Your Meeting! PO Box
190146, Atlanta, GA 31119. If you post it, please send the URL to robert@jumpstartyourmeeting.com.
March 30, 2010
ASFMRA Update, Volume 5, Issue VII
Page 4
Update Your Calendars with the Latest Meetings and Education Schedule
Stay current with all the programs and activities taking place within ASFMRA and the industry. Bookmark
the ASFMRA website and check the calendar regularly. Click here to view the complete schedule of
ASFMRA courses .
NATIONAL OFFERINGS
July 2010
7/10-16 ASFMRA Summer Education Week – St. Louis, MO
November 2010
st
11/1-4 ASFMRA 81 Annual Convention and Trade Show – Orlando, FL
Red = Education
April
4/8
4/8-10
4/12
4/12-15
4/12-14
4/14-15
4/14-15
4/14
4/14-15
4/15-16
4/20
4/21
4/26-28
4/30
4/30
May
5/1-3
5/3-4
5/3-4
5/3-6
5/6
5/7
5/11-13
5/17-19
5/19
5/19-21
5/20-22
March 30, 2010
Blue = Chapter Meetings
Green = Other Meetings
UCRR Seminar – Fostoria, OH
ASA Report Writing Seminar – Annapolis, MD
Ontario Chapter Annual Spring Meeting – Woodstock, ON
A102 Basic Appraisal Procedures – Austin, TX
A250 Eminent Domain – Denver, CO
Texas Chapter Meeting & Education – Fredericksburg, TX
Oklahoma Chapter Meeting & Education – Altus, OK
7 Hour National USPAP Update – Altus, OK
Wind Powered Electric Generators & their Impact on Land – Fredericksburg, TX
Washington Chapter Spring Meeting – Walla Walla, WA
7 Hour National USPAP Update – St. Cloud, MN
Wind Powered Electric Generators & Their Impact on Land – St. Cloud, MN
Requirements of UASFLA – The Yellow Book – Denver, CO
State Regulatory Advisory Group – San Diego, CA
Appraisal Standards Board – San Diego, CA
AARO 2010 Spring Conference – San Diego, CA
Northeast Chapter Annual Meeting and Education – Williamsport, PA
Minerals Appraisal Seminar – Williamsport, PA
A290 General Market Analysis and Highest & Best Use – Denver, CO
Sales Comparison Approach – Jackpot, NV
Cost Approach Seminar – Jackpot, NV
Requirements of UASFLA – The Yellow Book – Puerto Rico
A380 Appraisal Review Under UASFLA – Denver, CO
ISU Soil and Land Valuation Meeting – Ames, IA
A390 Advanced Appraisal Review Case Studies – Denver, CO
Board of Trustees – Napa Valley, CA
ASFMRA Update, Volume 5, Issue VII
Page 5