Colorado-based agricultural real estate investment trust (REIT), Farmland Partners, announced it has filed a prospectus supplement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the sale of common shares of stock totaling a gross sale price of $25 million.

 

The proceeds from the sale will be allocated to Farmland Partners Operating Partnership LP in exchange for units in the partnership, and the funds would be used for the future acquisition of additional farmland and for corporate purposes including providing loans to farmers.

 

Since floating in April of last year, Farmland Partners has pursued rapid portfolio expansion, seeing its assets under management increase from 8,000 acres to 123 farms totaling 72,423 acres spanning the states of Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Michigan.  

 

In June of this year, Farmland Partners made its first foray into permanent crops with the acquisition of a 181 acre blueberry farm in Michigan for $2.5 million. And this addition to its funding could back additional deals that would increase its diversification.

 

“In the future we may diversify into farmland suitable for other annual crops, such as fresh produce, peanuts and biofuel feedstocks, as well as permanent crops, such as oranges and almonds,” the group stated.

 

"We also may acquire properties related to farming, such as grain storage facilities, grain elevators, feedlots, processing plants and distribution centers, as well as livestock farms or ranches," Farmland Partners said.