Hageman Realty’s Services

Hageman is a full-service farmland brokerage and our offerings extend beyond listing and selling. Core services include farm management for absentee landowners, land auctions (live, hybrid, and multi-parcel), generational planning support, tax-deferred exchange coordination (Section 1031), inheritance and partition support, and recreational and timber tract handling. Hageman has served Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Texas landowners since 1976.

Professional farm management handles the day-to-day operations of farmland for the owner — tenant selection and oversight, lease structuring (cash rent, crop share, or flexible), rent collection, soil testing coordination, conservation program enrollment (CRP, EQIP), property tax management, annual landowner reporting, and regulatory compliance with FSA and NRCS. It is most often used by absentee landowners (out-of-state owners, retired farmers, heirs without a farming background) and by families managing inherited land. Industry typical fees range from 5 to 10 percent of gross income or a per-acre flat rate. ASFMRA-credentialed Accredited Farm Managers (AFM) bring verified experience, ethics oversight, and continuing education to the role.

Generational planning is the structured transfer of agricultural real estate, equipment, and operating entities from one generation to the next. Common vehicles include revocable living trusts (which avoid probate), irrevocable trusts and Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGT), family limited partnerships (FLPs), and farmland-holding LLCs. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed July 4, 2025, the federal estate, gift, and GST tax exemption is permanently $15 million per decedent and $30 million per married couple starting January 1, 2026, with inflation indexing from 2027. Section 2032A special-use valuation can reduce the federal estate-tax base by up to $1,460,000 in 2026 for qualifying family farms. Hageman coordinates with your estate planning attorney, CPA, and Qualified Intermediary — we do not act as tax or legal counsel but provide market valuation and disposition services when the family is ready.

Hageman brokers regularly handle relinquished-property sales and replacement-property purchases as part of 1031 like-kind exchanges. We coordinate with your Qualified Intermediary (QI) to meet the 45-day identification and 180-day exchange deadlines, structure the purchase agreement language correctly, and time the closings to fit within your exchange window. We do not act as a QI ourselves — that requires an independent third party under Treasury Regulations §1.1031(k)-1. We work with QIs our clients have used across our five states and can refer if you do not have one.

Yes. Hageman has handled live, online-only, hybrid simulcast, sealed bid, and multi-parcel auctions. Auctions work especially well for high-quality tracts in active markets, estate sales with a fiduciary duty to maximize value, partition action court-ordered sales, and unique tracts where comparables are thin. Sara Hageman Schenck holds the ALC (Accredited Land Consultant) credential from the REALTORS Land Institute, and Hageman has been recognized by the RLI APEX Awards (2025 Producers Club, Q1 2026 Land Star Award, Q4 2025 Land Star Award).

Hageman brokers coordinate with your CPA and tax attorney to support transactions that have tax implications — 1031 exchanges, step-up basis verification, capital gains timing, Section 2032A special-use valuation documentation, depreciation recapture analysis, and state-specific exclusions (Wisconsin's 60 percent farm asset capital gains exclusion under Wis. Stat. §71.05(6)(b)9m, Arkansas's 50 percent long-term capital gains exclusion, Texas's lack of state income or estate tax). We do not provide tax advice ourselves, but our brokers can document material participation, pull comparable sales for valuation, and structure transactions to support the tax strategy your professional team has set.

Yes. Recreational and timber tracts are a distinct market from cropland, and Hageman handles both. Wisconsin's northern counties average $3,200 to $4,500 per acre for hunting land, with western Wisconsin "Bluff Country" timber tracts starting near $5,800. Illinois recreational land averaged $6,600 to $10,600 per acre in 2024 to 2025. Arkansas Ozark recreational tracts run $4,000 to $4,800. Texas hunting and ranch tracts span a wide range depending on water rights, fencing, and game improvements. Hageman can also document enrollment in Wisconsin's Managed Forest Law for reduced property taxes (25 or 50-year forest management commitment, 20 contiguous acres minimum or 10 if connected to another qualifying parcel) or Wildlife Management Valuation in Texas (three of seven approved practices annually under a state-approved plan).

Farmland transactions have variables generalist agents rarely encounter: USDA FSA records, soil productivity indices (PI, NCCPI, WAPI), CRP and EQIP conservation programs, tile and drainage systems, water and mineral rights, 1031 exchange timing, Section 2032A special-use valuation, and county-by-county ag economic conditions. ALC (Accredited Land Consultant) credentialed brokers like Sara Hageman Schenck go through specialized RLI training. ASFMRA-credentialed appraisers (AFM, ARA) bring rural valuation expertise that residential or commercial appraisers typically don't have. For a transaction where soil quality alone can shift price by 30 percent across the same farm, specialist credentials matter.

ALC stands for Accredited Land Consultant, a credential issued by the REALTORS Land Institute (RLI). To earn the ALC, a broker must complete required RLI coursework, document specified land transaction experience over multiple years, pass a comprehensive exam, and maintain continuing education. ALC holders specialize in land brokerage as a discipline, distinct from residential or commercial real estate. Sara Hageman Schenck holds the ALC credential. The designation is the most widely recognized professional credential specific to farmland and rural land brokerage in North America.