Farmland Reserve
Farmland Reserve Inc. is an organization owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It serves as an agricultural investment arm and a resource for the Church's food program. According to the Farmland Reserve website, "Farmland Reserve invests in and operates agricultural assets to generate long-term value for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."[1]
Farmland Reserve leases land to local farmers and in selected locations to solar and wind renewable energy developers, according to its website. Farmland Reserve also leases land to its operating subsidiary, AgReserves. "Through our taxable, for-profit AgReserves subsidiary, we grow food that helps feed the world, and we make meaningful contributions in the communities where we live and work."[2]
Farmland Reserve agreed to pay $289 million for a total of 41,554 acres of farmland (about $6,950 per acre), according to a news release issued in early October 2024 by seller Farmland Partners. The cash deal is scheduled to close on October 16, 2024.
The 46 farms changing hands are located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Nebraska. They grow corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, peas, and peanuts.
According to the Deseret News: "The church, through investment auxiliaries and other outlets, is an agricultural titan in the United States, according to Landgate, an online marketplace for commercial land resources and news. Landgate estimated that the church and its auxiliaries own an estimated 1.7 million acres of U.S. farmland worth $16 billion.
"As a privately held investment auxiliary of the church, Farmland Reserve doesn’t comment on acreage estimates from third-party sources.
"The news release about the sale said, “Farmland Reserve’s earnings support the mission of the church and its religious, humanitarian, educational and charitable good works.
"The farms contribute both funding and products for humanitarian relief like that provided to food pantries during the COVID-19 pandemic.”[3]
Farmland Partners said, “We are pleased to transition our long-standing tenant relationships to a high-quality institutional investor that values relationships as we do. . . . Farmland Reserve is highly respected in the farmland community as a best-in-class owner that manages farms expertly and deals honestly and ethically with its farmer tenants. We strongly believe that our farmer-tenants will have an excellent partner moving forward.”[4]
