Tuesday Trends sample: Farmland prices rising, AnchorBank mixed and Badger State Games falling

Below is an excerpt from the most recent edition of WisBusiness Tuesday Trends. The full version of this weekly look at the state of Wisconsin business is now available for free to anyone who signs up for the Tuesday Trends mailing list. The full product includes several items in each of the rising, mixed and falling categories plus a look at upcoming business events across the state.

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RISING

Farmland prices: The price of Wisconsin agricultural land increased eight percent in 2010 after two years of declining values, according to a recent analysis by the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service. The value averaged $4,050 per acre as of Jan. 1. Values of cropland rose $300 over 2009 levels to $3,950 per acre, while pastureland values rose to $2,090 per acre, up $40 over 2009. Rental rates were also favorable — cropland rental averages increased $7 to $99 per acre, while the value of pasture rental was $32 per acre, nearly triple the national average. Wisconsin farmland also outpaced neighboring Minnesota ($3,350 per acre) and Michigan ($3,850).

MIXED

AnchorBank: The Madison-based bank reports a net loss of $8.2 million in its latest quarterly report. But that’s just over half of the bank’s $15.5 million loss in the same quarter of 2010, and CEO Chris Bauer says the bank’s indicators are “all going in the right direction, in some cases, amazingly fast.” At Anchor’s annual meeting, Bauer says the bank has cut down on losses due to loans and cut its expenses — including selling 15 branches over the last 13 months. He acknowledges that the company still owes more than $143 million to other banks and must repay the Treasury Department $14 million over its original $110 million loan from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. But he says the bank’s current capitalization would be considered adequate under normal circumstances; capitalization levels remain below requirements set by federal regulators for the embattled bank in 2009.

FALLING

Badger State Games: After 25 years, the Wisconsin Sports Development Corp. announces it’s shutting down the semiannual Badger State Games, citing a decline in both athletes and revenue. About 5,000 participants joined the 2011 summer and winter games — down from the 20,000 participants in the first years of the games. And the end of the fiscal year in July 2010 marked the second straight year of losses for the WSDC. Officials with the Wausau area and the Fox Cities — which hosted the latest winter and summer games, respectively — signaled their willingness to attempt to continue some form of the games moving forward.