Be careful before buying land

I cannot deny the attraction of directly owning farm land.

I think the reason companies have stayed away from collecting land, so to speak, is that it's really hard.

There is a lady who is starting to do just this: Shonda Warner. Meet the next Master of the Universe. She revealed some of her secrets in a great, long Fortune article this week:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/08/retirement/betting_the_farm.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009061112

Here's what she says:

Stay away from overpriced land in Illinois and Iowa. She focuses on Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas as well as Mississippi.

You have to understand things like 10 year yield trends and soil.

I think the secret to owning a farm is this: any fool can buy a plot of land, but making money can be another story entirely.

Warner already closed a $20 million agricultural hedge fund for Chess Capital Partners, and sounds like she's starting another one.