Institutional Farmland Investors - Part Two

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

What happens when an out of town investor buys a large track of farmland in your area? Farmland investment consultant Skye Root says that in many cases, they rent that ground back to local farmers, and they’ll probably want to lean toward cutting edge farm management approaches.

Root… “Many of them are leading the charge to really look at technology and look at how can we do so many other more efficiently. Whether that's from the biological standpoint of utilizing less inputs so that we don't affect our watershed as much, or just from a profitability standpoint. All the way to irrigation technology, you know, high efficiency sprinkler packages, and soil moisture monitors and probes that are, you know, making it to where you're not putting too much water on the ground. And on and on and on.”

Root says some will even share in some of the farmer’s cost to adopt new technology.

Root… “You see cost sharing amongst, you know, some of these progressive farmers and the funds. Where it's like, hey, we'll 50-50 cost share with you on new technologies that allow the farmer to be more efficient, but also adds an ESG storyline and you know, like actual benefit to the farm.”

Root is the owner of Root Agricultural Advisory based in Boise, Idaho.