May 19, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Farmland Partners (FPI)  has acquired a 166-acre Illinois corn and soybean farm located in Bureau County, including a 16,000-bushel grain bin, for $2.4 million. 

FPI is the largest publicly traded farmland REIT measured by U.S. acreage in the country. Operating as an internally managed REIT, the company owns and seeks out high-quality farmland in North America, and makes loans to farmers secured by farm real estate.

Currently, FPI owns and/or manages more than 185,500 acres in 19 states including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Virginia.

“This is the first property that we have purchased in Bureau County,” noted Sam Woodrow, farm manager for FPI who oversaw the transaction. “The area has excellent soils and is strategically located with access to several grain markets.”

This deal brings FPI’s portfolio of owned holdings to 220 farms in the U.S. Corn Belt spanning 44,700 acres that are leased to 36 tenants.

“We are always on the hunt for high-quality farmland, and this tract is a perfect example of what we’re seeking,” said Paul Pitman, chairman and CEO, FPI. “It is located in a desirable area, has a history of profitable production, and there’s an experienced tenant in place.”

A Wise Move

In November of last year FPI made news when it acquired 100 percent of Murray Wise Associates (MWA) through a deal valued at $8 million – creating an unparalleled platform for farmland investing. 

MWA was founded by Murray R. Wise, the founder of Westchester Group (the largest institutional farmland asset manager in the world), as a spin-off from Westchester’s brokers, auction, and farm management business when the company was acquired by TIAA in 2010.

Headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, and with offices in Clarion, Iowa, and Naples, Florida, MWA focuses on farmland brokerage for institutional investors, farmland auctions, and farm management. Over the past 25 years prior to the acquisition, MWA completed land and agribusiness transactions valued at more than $5 billion in 43 states.

Together, FPI and MWA launched a joint asset management platform during a period of strengthening interest in farmland as an asset class. At the time, it was agreed that Murray would continue to act as CEO of MWA, and would attain a seat on the FPI Board of Directors.

Upon the completion of the deal, Murray R. Wise, CEO of MWA, commented, “Farmland Partners has proven itself to be a very effective farmland investor and manager, giving public company investors access to the asset class’ powerful value creation capabilities. I believe that the combination of FPI and MWA creates a formidable platform in many aspects of farmland asset management. Farmland investors will be able to access an unmatched array of integrated services.”

~ 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 Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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