Half of U.S. Farmland Being Eyed by Private Equity

[Joe Shlabotnik]

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 2014 (IPS) - An estimated 400 million acres of farmland in the United States will likely change hands over the coming two decades as older farmers retire, even as new evidence indicates this land is being strongly pursued by private equity investors.

Mirroring a trend being experienced across the globe, this strengthening focus on agriculture-related investment by the private sector is already leading to a spike in U.S. farmland prices. Coupled with relatively weak federal policies, these rising prices are barring many young farmers from continuing or starting up small-scale agricultural operations of their own.

In the long term, critics say, this dynamic could speed up the already fast-consolidating U.S. food industry, with broad ramifications for both human and environmental health.

“When non-operators own farms, they tend to source out the oversight to management companies, leading in part to horrific conditions around labour and how we treat the land,” Anuradha Mittal, the executive director of the Oakland Institute, a U.S. watchdog group focusing on global large-scale land acquisitions, told IPS.

“They also reprioritise what commodities are grown on that land, based on what can yield the highest return. This is no longer necessarily about food at all, but rather is a way to reap financial profits. Unfortunately, that’s far removed from the central role that land ultimately plays in terms of climate change, growing hunger and the stability of the global economy.”

In a new report released Tuesday, the Oakland Institute tracks rising interest from some of the financial industry’s largest players. Citing information from Freedom of Information Act requests, the group says this includes bank subsidiaries (the Swiss UBS Agrivest), pension funds (the U.S. TIAA-CREF) and other private equity interests (such as HAIG, a subsidiary of Canada’s largest insurance group).

More at: http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/02/half-u-s-farmland-eyed-private-equity/


Hooray for capitalism.

[sadoldgirl]

1. Why are there no coops looking for those farms?

Don't the young farmers see that this might be the path to the future? Or is it a question of water as well?

[Joe Shlabotnik]

3. I can only guess that the prices

must be extremely high, even for a group of people to pool together. What would be incredible though, would be a government program financing small start-ups. Not like that's going to happen though.

[blkmusclmachine]

2. Change

That You Don't Want To Believe In!

[kenny blankenship]

4. That's what they use Depressions for: to force assets out of "weak" hands

into their strong hands, aided by unequal access to cheap finance.

[El_Johns]

6. +1

[El_Johns]

5. KR

[Wellstone ruled]

7. With all of the disruption coming to this years

growing season,just a repeat of 1979 and the Farm crash of of 1981. Can you say big time Foreclosure coming. Know several folks who are thinking about dumping everything on their Banks. They are trying to get by on Social Security cause everything else is gone or going to payback operating loans. This past Winter has plain and simply wipe them out. They were living the dream and now it is a nightmare. Just to damn old to start over.

First place t.o watch will be North Central Iowa and South Central Minnesota. This area is were the shit hit the fan in 81'.

[Agony]

8. “They also reprioritise what commodities are grown on that land, based on what can yield the highest

return" IOW Likely that they will maximize return by growing more corn/grain/soybeans instead of hay and Soil Organic Carbon levels will drop as they burn topsoil for short term gain.

[Agony]

9. There is BIG money to be made! - land resource-based alternative asset hedge funds

http://terraqua.us/representative-projects/


Land Scouting—Terraqua works with private and hedge fund investors in developing acquisition strategies and operating pursuant to “go-no go” parameters to create deal flow relevant to client objectives.

it's not about farming anymore...

[reformist2]

10. The idea of Wall Street owning all the farms says it all about what's wrong with capitalism.

In my opinion, the famers deserve to own EVERY SQUARE INCH of the land they farm, and nobody else.

[reddread]

11. one of the single biggest threats we face, its real, and its right now

fairytales and traditional beliefs dont mean anything when farms get mismanaged by younger generations.
Guess who comes in?
Stuff like this is what makes celebrity "news" coverage so important.

[pa28]

12. The housing market is largely made up of private equity buyers as well.

It seems to me paying rent and owning nothing is the future 80% of Americans will face.