Positive Future News #910 (Feature Photo – Growing Corn – GNU Free Documentation) The non-profit news portal called Farmlandgrab.org., brings us the story of farmland acquired not by farmers, but by investors foreign and domestic. One organization, The Land Matrix Initiative, reports that since 2000, roughly 82 million acres of farmland have been acquired by…
Touch the Soil News #1750 (Feature Photo – Farm Crops – Public Domain) Farmlandgrab news portal brings us the story of America’s largest owner of farmland. The farmland number is 242,000 acres. That would be a farm that is 10 miles wide and almost 40 miles long. So who would it be? None other…
Touch the Soil News #1692 (Feature Photo – A U.S. farm planted into corn – Public Domain) Farmlandgrab.org brings us more insights on who is buying American farms. A large player is Homestead Capital. Homestead Capital invests other people’s money into buying and owning farmland. New on the block is the State Universities Retirement System…
Touch the Soil News #1670 (Feature Photo – TIAA Logo – Public Domain) TIAA – Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America – has about $1.1 trillion of assets under management – much of that represents the retirement savings of teachers, medical professionals, and governmental professions. TIAA has been the target of activists for its…
Touch the Soil News #1670 (Feature Photo – Soybeans – USDA Public Domain) TIAA – Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America – has about $1.1 trillion of assets under management – much of that represents the retirement savings of teachers, medical professionals, and governmental professions. TIAA has been the target of activists for its…
Touch the Soil News #1574 (Feature photo – Romaine Lettuce – CCA SA 3.0 Unported) When asset managers team up with pension funds, the sky is the limit. Recently one of the largest farm sales took place in Western Australia. A 54,812 acre farm was purchased for $97.62 million by Daybreak cropping. Daybreak cropping is…
Touch the Soil News #1516 (Feature photo – Ukrainian Farmland – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, Vian) Farmland Grab brings us the story of Ukraine farmland and its peoples who may be overrun by foreign farmland ownership. If you lose your farm – in a nation with few economic safety nets – you are…
Touch the Soil News #1453 (Feature photo – The Columbia – CCA SA 3.0 Unported Українська:) New Zealand folks are in a rage over the liberal policies of their government in allowing large tracts of farmland to be sold to foreigners. The four largest landowners in New Zealand are all foreign-owned forestry companies. The latest…
Touch the Soil News #1389 (Feature photo – Florida Citrus Groves – Public Domain) Gladstone Land – a Real Estate Investment Trust – just purchased 3,586 acres of farmland in Florida for $58 million. The farmland is presently used to retain water and stabilize water in the region. The state of Florida is funding the…
Touch the Soil News #1316 (Feature photo – Sanders Theater Harvard University – CCA SA 4.0 International) Harvard University, the oldest college in the U.S., was established in 1636. In search of lucrative investments, the Harvard Management Corporation has been involved in farm real estate acquisitions at home and abroad. Issues surrounding Harvard’s land investments…
