Heller supplements Senate salary with alfalfa sales

WASHINGTON - Sen. Dean Heller last year added another source of income to supplement his $174,000 salary as a U.S. senator.

As a gentleman farmer, Heller harvested at least $15,000 worth of alfalfa off his Northern Nevada ranch in 2011, according to documents filed this month with Congress.

Heller and his wife, Lynne, bought a home and land totaling 37.6 acres in Smith Valley in July 2010 for $1.19 million, according to Lyon County property records.

Most of the land in the verdant valley is agricultural, and Heller put his to work. He hired a service that irrigates the property, cultivates alfalfa and then harvests it, bales it and sells it, according to spokesman Stewart Bybee.

"It's kind of like having a lawn service, except at the end of the day you have a marketable product," Bybee said, adding it is not an unusual practice among landowners in the valley.

Bybee could not identify the harvesting service or provide further details of the farming arrangement.

The property being combed for alfalfa, listed as the "Heller Hay Farm," was valued at between $250,000 and $500,000, according to the documents.

The disclosure was contained in a report that lawmakers are required to file each May with Congress outlining their investments and debts during the previous year.

The House and Senate release the reports officially in mid-June. Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei, both R-Nev., made theirs available on request this week.

Lawmakers are allowed to categorize their finances in broad ranges, allowing only a general peek into their wealth. House members now are required to disclose mortgages on their homes as a result of a new ethics law enacted this year.

Amodei, who entered Congress in a special election in September, reported he owns two IRAs valued at between $50,000 and $100,000 apiece.

He also has a bank account and an account at Greater Nevada Credit Union, each holding between $1,000 and $15,000, according to his report.

As for debt, Amodei owes between $100,000 and $250,000 on the mortgage of his Carson City home.

Heller reported his family's wealth at between $463,000 and $1 million.

Additionally, Lynne Heller owns stakes in two maiden family partnerships that hold California municipal bonds and an industrial building in Los Angeles. The value of those investments was $2.2 million, although the office building was vacant last year and registered a net income loss of $4,969.

The main family partnership generated $61,622 in income in 2011, but it could not be determined how much of it was distributed to the Heller family.

Heller, who served as Nevada secretary of state before entering Congress in 2007, is owed state retirement worth between $50,000 and $100,000. The Hellers also have set up money market accounts and life insurance policies for their children.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.