July 1, 2015

Homestead Capital has announced the final closing of its inaugural farmland investment fund, Homestead Capital USA Farmland Fund I, at $173 million.

California and Iowa-based Homestead Capital USA LLC is a private equity firm with a vertically integrated investment platform focused on investing in operating farmland throughout the Mountain West, Delta, Midwest and Pacific regions of the United States. The fund has already made a cornerstone investment of $60 million throughout all four key regions across eight projects.

The firm’s first fund will target the acquisition of assets across its key regions to build a diversified portfolio consisting of various crops, lease types, farm operators, and risk profiles.

Homestead Capital USA Farmland Fund I has attracted the attention of a varied field of institutional investors including pension funds, endowments, foundations, funds of funds, high net worth individuals and insurance companies.

“We are proud that our first fund has generated such strong interest from established institutional investors,” says Daniel Little, managing partner of Portfolio Construction at Homestead Capital in a company statement, “It reflects growing investor interest in farmland as an asset class and the opportunity it offers to produce attractive, risk-adjusted returns and act as a portfolio diversifier and hedge against inflation.”

Throughout its investment decision and management processes, Homestead targets and leverages opportunities that will create value, and through the use of sustainable production practices, will maintain the long term value of its farmland.

“Our unique approach to farmland investing pairs on-the-ground, local farm management expertise with more than half a century of combined investment, acquisition and asset management experience,” explains Gabe Santos, managing partner and head of acquisitions and structuring at Homestead in a recent press release issued by the firm, “Our local networks and national scope allow us to employ a bottom-up strategy in our deal sourcing, to ensure access to a wealth of investment opportunities with the highest risk-reward profiles.”