WOW... Only just starting the research and running the numbers for a marketing flyer I intend to send out to landowners in the southern tier of New York. I recently 'unjobbed' to become a small farmer and market gardener in upstate New York, and I'm hoping to pay the bills until I get 'growing', supplementing my 'income' as a real estate salesperson in this rural part of New York State, with a mission to help young and new farmers like myself get back to the land. Many landowners and retired farmers in the area have kept their land off the market in anticipation of an end to the moratorium on gas drilling. Entitled 'What now?', in light of the historic decision this past week, I'll be offering to market their land for outright purchase, owner financing, or in a win/win situation, long term leasing to young farmers, arguing that all is not lost and their land is still very much a valuable commodity and potential source of income. Just starting to dig in, but I'm shocked with what I'm coming up with this morning!
According to Kiplingers (Not exactly a lefty environmental source) a best-case scenario on a Marcellus gas lease would provide an average $1000 per acre per year royalty payment to a landowner. Meanwhile, I attended a workshop last month with Jean-Martin Fortier, a market gardener who is consistently making $100,000 per acre per year growing veggies a full growing zone north of us in Quebec.
Maybe this whole gas boom thing was a bit overhyped?
Full Disclosure: The above numbers do not account for the upfront signing bonus of $1000 to $3,000 per acre for a gas lease. And I don't yet know if the Kiplingers' number is gross or net, while the Jean Martin's number is gross (even so, his net number is about $43,000 per acre per year). But I do know that the gas is extractive and finite with rapid diminuation while the gardening methods are generative and infinite with rapid scalability.
So far outside 'conventional wisdom', I'm triple checking and questioning myself, but keep coming back to these numbers! I would REALLY like it if knowledgeable people from both sides of the coin could weigh-in to poke holes, ask questions, and provide citations as I work today to prepare a mailer for potential clients!