Buying Rural Farmland 101 Webinar

Deanna Ballweg, First Weber Realtors

Deanna Ballweg is a senior executive associate with First Weber Group, southern Wisconsin’s largest real estate agency. She has facilitated over 1,000 real estate transactions, including many rural farms, and has been ranked in First Weber’s President’s Club every year since 1992. Deanna’s specialty is the sale of rural properties, and she has a special affinity for farming and farmland. She grew up on a dairy farm and carried out fieldwork, milking cows, and other chores on a daily basis.

Deanna is a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Wisconsin Realtors Association (WRA), Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin (RASCW), and Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

Paul Dietmann, Compeer Financial

Paul Dietmann is Senior Lending Specialist on the Diversified Markets team at Compeer Financial, a member-owned rural lending cooperative and Farm Credit System institution.  Paul and his colleague, Sai Thao, are responsible for Compeer’s Emerging Markets Loan Program, which provides loans and technical assistance to farmers who market their products through local food systems.

Dietmann holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois, and a Master’s Degree from UW-Madison.  He is co-author of the books Fearless Farm Finances: Farm Financial Management Demystified and Financial Risk Management for Specialty Crop Farmers.

Andy Weidner, Compeer Financial

Andy Weidner is a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, based in Sycamore, Illinois. For over a decade, Andy has served the northeastern portion of the state, which includes the Chicagoland market. Over this time, Andy has completed appraisals on a wide variety of property types including: tillable farm land; recreational tracts; rural home sites; dairy production facilities; swine barns; cattle finishing operations; wholesale greenhouse complexes. 

In addition to Andy’s commitment to the real estate appraisal profession, he also serves as the Sales Team Lead for Compeer Financial’s appraisal department while managing staff located throughout the northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin territories.  Andy lives in Harvard, IL with his wife and daughters and enjoys working on his family’s row-crop farm in his spare time.