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Strategy

“Buying farmland is really buying sunshine, dirt, and water. We focus on great growing climates, high-quality soils, and secure water rights.”

Craig Wichner, Founder

Farmland

Sunshine-Dirt-Water

These are the elements for growth that run through our property selection and active farm management.

Sunshine

  • Acquire land in fertile growing regions
  • Recognize climate change is happening
  • Match crops with land that thrives in those climate conditions

Dirt

  • Acquire farms with healthy soils
  • Eliminate chemical fertilizers
  • Increase soil productivity and biodiversity

Water

  • Acquire land with secure strong senior water rights
  • Benefit from underpriced water rights which climate change will enhance
  • Invest in water-supply improvements
Farmland
Our Process

Buy, Add Value, Manage

Take a closer look at how we add value

Organic Conversion

  • Increase rents from $300/acre to $800/acre
  • 50%-200% price premium on organic food
  • Using fewer chemicals means lower costs and higher profits

Diversify Crops

  • Higher value, diverse crops deliver better revenue and income per acre
  • Crop rotation improves soil health, increasing yields per acre
  • Soil chemistry and biology determine optimal crops for the land

Maximize Margins

  • Technology and infrastructure investments add value, including:
    • Full field satellite imaging
    • GPS-driven tractors
    • Farm management software
    • Drip irrigation
  • We actively manage farms with an experienced management team
  • We farm 1/3 of our acreage and lease the balance to tenant farmers
Farmland

What Does This Lead To?

Farmland

Real Results

An Example

Burns Farm, Northern CA

Farmland LP acquired the 150-year-old Burns Farm in 2013. This 4,000-acre farm had grown the same three crops for 50 years, rotating them approximately every five years.

Before

2013 Purchase Price $29.5M

  • No organic acres nor permanent crops
  • 3 conventional crops
  • 2 farming tenants
  • $347 revenue/acre
  • Senior water rights

After

2023 Appraised Value $92.3M

  • 2,910 acres certified organic and permanent crops
  • 12 diverse crops
  • 7 farming tenants
  • $809 revenue/acre
  • Added drip irrigation

Improvement

Increase in Value 3.1x

  • 80% certified organic and permanent crops
  • 4x crop diversity
  • 3.5x tenant diversity
  • 2.3x revenue/acre
  • Increased water efficiency and value

Before

CropRevenue / Acre
Alfalfa / Hay$355
Corn$300
Tomatoes$369
Total / Average$347

After

CropRevenue / Acre
Organic Blueberries*$1,124
Organic Beans / Melons$750
Organic Grain Corn$750
Organic Green Beans$750
Organic Squash$750
Organic Sweet Corn$750
Organic Tomato's Process$750
Organic Watermelons$750
Organic Pasture$300
Olives**$461
Almonds**$357
Conventional Row Crops***$551
Total Organic$809
Total Conventional$489
Total / Average$705
* Gross profit from 155 acres and will increase as bushes mature. An additional ~150 acres will have first harvest each year between 2023 and 2025.
** Revenue share will increase as trees mature, estimated $1,000+.
*** Will convert to permanent crops.
Farmland LP