January 11, 2018

Homestead Capital, a U.S.-based private equity farmland investment and operating firm, has announced two high-profile strategic additions to their leadership team.

Patrick Trainor has been named Homestead’s new Vice President and Head of Acquisitions, and Kyle Jacobs has been appointed as Vice President of Due Diligence.

Prior to this appointment with Homestead, Trainor served as Executive Vice President and Head of Portfolio Management with TIAA subsidiary, Westchester Group Investment Management Inc. where he oversaw portfolio construction, the management and reporting for all client accounts and funds, and served on Westchester’s Global Investment Committee. Prior to serving in this capacity, Trainor served as Director of Acquisitions for Westchester’s U.S. Row Crop business and the head of the Midwest region.

Jacobs brings more than 15 years of ‘boots on the ground’ experience to Homestead, having been instrumental in growing his family farming operation into a leader in the Mountain West region of the U.S. His experience provides Homestead a vast agricultural network, as well as a deep knowledge of multiple crops including corn, potatoes, barley, wheat, triticale, and alfalfa.

Founded in 2012 in San Francisco, California, and with offices in Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, and Arkansas, Homestead Capital has built and manages a vertically integrated portfolio of farms spanning 13 states producing 18 different crops, creating a platform of assets under management worth $575 million.

Focused on investing and operating farmland throughout the Mountain West, Delta, Midwest, and Pacific regions of the United States, Homestead has curated a team that has a deep well of experience in agriculture, financing, farm management, farm acquisition, portfolio construction, and risk management.

“We are thrilled to welcome Patrick and Kyle to the Homestead team. Their proven track record in farming, farm management and farmland transactions will play a key role in further strengthening our team of professionals with deep agricultural and financial experience,” said Dan Little, co-founder and portfolio manager at Homestead.

In the last quarter of 2016, Homestead Capital announced that it had closed its second fund – Homestead Capital USA Farmland Fund II at $400 million. This latest fund, which surpassed its initial target of $350 million to close oversubscribed, more than doubles the firm’s first fund – Homestead Capital USA Farmland Fund I which closed in July of last year at $173 million.

Many investors from Fund I returned to make capital commitments to Fund II, with both funds attracting the attention of a varied field of institutional investors including endowments, foundations, funds of funds, high net worth individuals, insurance companies, and pension funds. This included MainePERS, which made a commitment of $50 million to Fund II in July 2016; the $68 billion Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (Oregon PERF), which committed $100 million to Fund II in December 2016; and the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB), which announced its intention to commit up to $100 million to Fund II in September 2016.

“Patrick and Kyle join at a pivotal time for Homestead as we continue to invest and manage our row and permanent crop farmland portfolio,” said Gabe Santos, a co-founder and portfolio manager of Homestead. “Kyle’s background in production agriculture and Patrick’s broad transaction experience provide Homestead with the right combination of skills necessary to create long-term value for our investors.”

-Lynda Kiernan