We’re a community based farmland investment company built by farmers, for farmers, restoring access to farmland for the next generation and revitalizing our local food economies. We acquire and lease farmland, seek willing and able farm tenants who intend to own, and connect community-based investors to local food economies.
Our Mission
Restore access to farmland and revitalize local food economies.
Our Vision
A vibrant and enduring local food economy where high quality farmland is treated, not like a piece of dirt, but as a common good.
The Challenge
Agriculture is an integral part of our economy, culture, and landscape. The nation’s 2.04 million farms keep over 900 million acres of land in agricultural production, support more than 3.3 million jobs, and generate in excess of $1.05 trillion annually.
As a growing number of farmers prepare to retire, it is critical that young farmers are positioned to step up and carry on this legacy. Unfortunately, our young farmers are struggling. Finding affordable farmland is their toughest obstacle.
Nearly 100 million acres of U.S. farmland is projected to change hands over the next five years. Real estate investment trusts, pension funds, and investment banks are increasingly turning to farmland to turn a profit. Now is the critical time to ensure that land remains available, accessible, and affordable to farmers.
If we want to revitalize our local food tradition, now is the time to rethink our capitalization model for early stage farmers and restructure how we fund and operate our emerging farm businesses.
Our Model
Find Farmer, Find Farmland, Farm, Repeat.
The Farmland Company Solution
At The Farmland Company, we appreciate that farmers and their access to productive farmland is under threat from real estate investment trusts, pension funds, and investment banks. We aim to use the resources we have—our capital, our community, our voice and our imaginations—to do something about it. The Farmland Company has adopted cooperative ownership as the most farmer focused, democratically governed and indefinitely scalable structure suitable to achieving its vision of rebuilding a vibrant and enduring local food economy.
Embodied in this vision are the following guiding principles that make up our reason for being:
- A New Path To Farmland Ownership
- Our success—and much of the fun—lies in developing new ways to do things. Our values reflect those of a company started by a group of farmers and the minimalist style they promoted. The approach we take toward restoring access to farmland demonstrates a bias for simplicity and utility. Who owns the land matters for our communities which is why we prioritize a transparent and predictable path to ownership for our farmers.
- Farmland For Farmers
- We put farmers first because we’re farmers too. All of our farmland purchases are conservation easement protected and farmland purchases are driven by the needs and wisdom of our individual farmers according to their individual business needs.
- User-Owned, User-Benefited, and User-Controlled
- We know that the structure of capital inherently alters the way businesses operate. We work steadily to put our values into practice by structuring and operating with cooperative principles.
- Soil Health, Animal Welfare, and Social Fairness
- We support regenerative organic farming operations that prioritize soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness, and we leave the marketing and certification decisions up to those that know best…our farmers.
How It Works
We seek capable and vetted farmers with a focused, financially viable business and those exhibiting an ability and desire to eventually purchase farmland. The Farmland Company supports early-stage farmers with secure land access by providing lease-to-own arrangements. Organized as a cooperative, we deliver positive social and environmental impacts while generating modest financial returns for investors. The cooperative membership is open to community-based investors looking to create a positive impact in our farming communities.
Why It Works
The Farmland Company’s approach provides meaningful benefits for early-stage farmers, the communities they serve, and local food economies.