September 8, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

If I’m not mistaken, Promised Land Opportunity Zone Farms I LLC is a new name to GAI News, even if its property manager is not. 

Created as a Qualified Opportunity Zone Business as described by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Promised Land was founded by Chicago-based investment management firm Servant Financial. Managed by Farmland Partners, the fund’s mission is to improve and stimulate economic development associated with farmland located in qualified opportunity zones in the U.S.

In early August, the fund announced it had recently closed on a 10-year  $50 million debt financing facility with Conterra Agricultural Capital, which the fund stated would strengthen its ability to drive economic development and promote employment in disadvantaged rural communities. 

“Agricultural Opportunity Zones are a growing asset class in a fragmented sector ripe for consolidation,” said John Heneghan, president, Servant Financial. “We are pleased to add Conterra, a leader in providing credit to rural communities and American agriculture, to our partnerships. This financing enables us to accelerate our pursuit of an active pipeline of potential investments and to continue expansion of partnerships with opportunity zone investors and agricultural lenders.”

Only weeks later, the announcement was made that Promised Land acquired 4,528 acres of cropland in eastern North Carolina for $29 million. 

Comprising 4,000 tillable acres that have historically been planted in corn, soybeans, wheat, and potatoes, the institutional-scale asset has high-quality soils, reliable water sources, and drainage systems, with about half of the acreage under center-pivot sprinkler irrigation.

This deal, which was so rapidly sourced, underwritten, financed, and leased demonstrates how together with Farmland Partners as property manager, Promised Land is creating a uniquely scalable opportunity zone platform for socially-minded investment in an anti-cyclical, inflation-insulated asset class that is often underrated.

“We see great potential in farmland Opportunity Zones and increasing interest from social impact investors,” said Heneghan. “We are thrilled to add this high-quality North Carolina farm to our existing portfolio of nine farms and 3,800 total acres in Illinois, South Carolina, and Mississippi. Including improvement projects, the portfolio size now approximates $53 million.”

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.