Wall Street’s $10 Billion Bet on Farmland
According to a report by farmland investment specialist and Oakland Institute fellow, Lukas Ross, as much as $10 billion of institutional capital is set to be invested in U.S. farmland and if the country’s financial atmosphere becomes more uncertain this amount could increase even further as investors look to the safety of land for their investments. Another factor pointing to the increase of institutional investment in agricultural land in the near future is one of demographics and the ageing of U.S. farmers. The latest data shows that only 6% of U.S. farmers are under the age of 35 while 70% of farmers are 65 years old or older. Within the next 20 years an estimated 400 million acres are expected to change hands as older farmers retire. But, as older farmers look to sell their land, the younger generation of farmers is sparse and does not have the necessary capital required to buy-in indicating an increase of agricultural land coming onto the market.