Approximately 30 land brokers participated in a joint meeting of the Alabama and Mississippi Chapters of the Realtors Land Institute (RLI) on Thursday. Brokers from the twin states met at the Central Station Grill in Starkville to hear from several great presenters. Southern Ag Credit was the major sponsor for the meeting.
Our first presenter was Lanford Holloway of TerraStride, illustrating how their online products can help land professionals market high end properties that are for sale. The mapping platform allows users to add multiple types of media onto the base maps, but the most unique feature is the ease with which the maps can be shared on websites and particularly social media sites.
Our next two presenters were both from Mississippi State University. Jeff Little of the MSU Foundation spoke with us about the school’s initiative in receiving donations of land and other types of real estate .Their total holdings have ballooned to nearly 30,000 acres of forest and farm lands. The keynote speaker was Dr. Bronson Strickland of MSU’s Deer Lab. Dr. Bronson shared information from some of the interesting research that he and his students have done with whitetail deer and feral hogs. Their research has shown clear data on the effects of proper nutrition and deer genetics in the quest to grow deer with the best antlers. You can find the results of their studies on their website. They offer some fantastic free apps for deer hunters and wildlife enthusiasts.
We spent the last couple of hours touring the Andrews Forestry and Wildlife Laboratory, with Dr. Bronson explaining their research into finding the optimal balance between timber management as a financial investment and also for developing wildlife habitat for recreational use. The information presented to the land brokers will allow us to help our customers and clients when the time comes for them to sell or purchase a piece of property that they want to use as a timber investment and a recreational and hunting property to enjoy. This was an excellent opportunity for land brokers to learn and find better ways to serve the public with that knowledge. Thanks to all those who presented, helped organize and facilitate this meeting, it was a big success in my book.
Written by: Jonathan Goode– Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) with Southeastern Land Group is a licensed broker in Alabama and Mississippi