The following report is by Rebecca Bauer from FarmTogether via AgFunder News:
For many investors, farmland was not on the radar as an investable asset class until earlier this year, when it was revealed that the largest owners of US farmland were none other than Bill and Melinda Gates.
Many were speculating about Gates’ motivation for the acquisitions – was it part of his larger sustainability strategy? As it happens, Gates says these investments are, in fact, not connected to climate. This might have surprised some – even the most savvy investors. But to those familiar with farmland, it’s easy to see why this asset class is so attractive for investors.
Institutional Investors Are Hungry For Farmland
For many years, farmland was not a common asset class among financial investors. Even after alternative investments became widespread, few funds looked carefully at the sector. Numerous barriers to entry stood in the way, including a highly fragmented market in which most farmland was family-owned; and a lack of investment professionals with the knowledge to value farmland investments.
The tide began to shift in the early 2000s, when institutional investors began to give farmland a closer look. Momentum accelerated during the 2008-2009 Great Financial Crisis, when investors grew desperate for alternatives to traditional safe haven investments like bonds and gold. In this short period of time, there was a proliferation in funds that were specifically focused on farmland investing. In 2020, there were 166 such funds globally, nearly a 9x increase from only 19 in 2005.
The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund, for example, holds $1.2 trillion in farmland assets through its asset management arm, Nuveen.
Bill Gates’ investments in farmland can be seen as part of this trend. The Gates’ have been quietly acquiring farmland through their investment manager, Cascade Investment, for over 10 years. When the fund was profiled by The Wall Street Journal in 2014, it was already a significant farmland investor, with “at least 100,000 acres of farmland in California, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, and other states.”
Following that profile, Cascade has made several other large farmland investments. In 2017, they paid the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) $520 million for a portfolio of farmland that had previously been owned by the Agricultural Company of America (AgCoA). When CPPIB acquired AgCoA’s portfolio in 2013, it was one of the largest institutional investors in row crop farmland in the US. Another notable acquisition was Cascade’s $170 million purchase of 14,500 acres of farmland in Washington state from John Hancock Life Insurance in 2018.
Today, Bill Gates owns 242,000 acres of farmland in 19 states. In addition, he owns 25,750 acres of transitional land and 1,234 acres of recreational land for total land holdings of 268,984 acres. His largest holding is in Louisiana (69,071 acres), followed by Arkansas (47,927 acres) and Arizona (25,750 acres).
Bill Gates Becomes Largest Farmland Owner In America
Farmland Delivers Solid Returns To Investors
Farmland has historically delivered strong real returns from two distinct sources: rental and crop payments, and appreciation when the underlying asset is sold. Between 1992 and 2020, the average annual return from farmland was 10.9%, compared to 7.87% for the stock market and 6% for gold. In addition, farmland is an extremely low-volatility asset class. In this same time period, the volatility for farmland was 6.84% while the volatility of the stock market was 16.9% and gold was 14.8%.
Farmland also adds diversification to a portfolio, which is crucial for building long-term wealth. Investors achieve diversification through investing in multiple uncorrelated asset classes. Farmland is uncorrelated with other major asset classes including stocks, bonds, and gold, meaning that it is not impacted by shocks which affect the price of other assets. For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the stock market decreased by 19.8% between Q4 2019 and Q1 2020. In contrast, farmland decreased by 0.1% – only its second negative quarter since 1992.
Farmland Is A Sustainable Asset Class
Despite sustainable agricultural development being one of the key focus areas for his nonprofit Gates Foundation, the Microsoft co-founder claims that his farmland investments are not tied to climate. But while Gates might be solely focused on returns, one should not overlook farmland investing’s potential to drive sustainability on a massive scale.
High-tech and sustainable approaches are needed to ensure that farmers will be capable of meeting the agricultural needs of the 21st century and the planet’s growing population, amid a changing climate and increasingly scarce resources. These sustainable and productivity-enhancing improvements include organic or nature-based farming methods, water conservation, and other agronomic innovations to improve the efficiency of farms. Despite these methods gaining popularity, however, many of the transitions are prohibitively costly for farmers.
It’s here that investments play a crucial role. By providing an injection of cash, farmland investors are facilitating much-needed capital improvements and increasing the sustainability of farms long-term.
Plus, sustainably managed farmland will reinforce the land’s value overtime. Farms with healthy soils, ample water, and efficient infrastructure are worth more, and this will be more true in a future where high-quality farmland is increasingly scarce.
You No Longer Need Gates Levels Of Wealth To Reap The Benefits Of Farmland
For too long, farmland investing has been restricted to a handful of institutional investors and ultra-high net worth individuals like the Gates’ due to high barriers to entry – including opaque markets and large minimum investments. Fortunately, this is no longer the case.
Crowdfunding investment platforms, for example, allow accredited investors to own a portion of farmland with low minimums starting at just $15,000. These platforms eliminate many of the barriers to investing in farmland and offer access to a selection of investment opportunities, ranging from apples to nuts and citrus.
Another way to invest in farmland, although not direct, is to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs) such as Farmland Partners, or ag commodity ETFs. While these funds expose investors to a few of the benefits of farmland, they are ultimately tied to the stock market and its unpredictable swings.
The potential reasons behind Gates’ farmland investments are broad. From its vital role in the global food supply to its historically strong financial performance, farmland can play a significant role in any portfolio. Now, it’s easier than ever to invest – even without being one of the richest men on the planet.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
The WinePress has reported the big moves to take over the farms of America, and all over the world: and yet this information is completely swept under the rug, as the media and politicians must keep the masses comatose as to what is really going on. This reports acts like it’s super-duper easy to just buy a farm; but for the strong majority of the masses, they are tapped out financially or do they have the wherewithal to start farming, even small scale.
AgFunder is involved with (and invests in) some of the “cutting edge” technology for farms and food supply chains. They are ‘gung ho’ about the integration with AI and and Big Tech. They are big on these faux meats that continually are announced all the time (which is major Bible prophecy). Essentially, a lot of the things mentioned in Agenda 2030 and Absolute Zero, they are quietly for.
[1] Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; [2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. [4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: [5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.1 Timothy 4:1-5
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A colossal aspect of these major power grabs by the wealthy are often blamed on big tech, but big food and big ag often gets neglected. So, then you have made sickos like Bill Gates buying up what used to be the American Dream; but that’s gone from the mass majority of people. But again, it is important to note that these world councils and organizations are all making these moves in tandem. There’s a massive agenda involved, which is why I keep harping on these types of things.
Just as World Economic Forum partners BlackRock – and others such as BlackStone, Vanguard, large banks, private equity firms, and even the Federal Reserve – continue to gobble entire neighborhoods for pennies, so too are the likes of Gates and other nations such as China, predominantly, are buying up the farm land.
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[1] Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. [2] Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. [3] We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. [4] We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us. [5] Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest. [6] We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. [7] Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. [8] Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.Lamentations 5:1-8
WinePress readers know that in light of these Covid death shots, astronomical numbers will be dying off this year, and to follow. According to a military source, they have long predicted that America would see a 70% reduction in its population by 2025, though it appears too many people are catching onto what is happening, and so that website conveniently removed their forecast. Nevertheless, a lot of death is coming.
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Therefore, (and this is a bit speculatory on my part), I believe a lot more land and real estate will be completed gobbled up by the bigs. Because of this, I think the future of America will become just a slave nation, with many of those remaining will be forced to work “the plantation of slavelandia” – as Gerald Celente of the Trends Journal would call it – being run and controlled by other nations such as China or Russia. Again, I cannot be dogmatic and very well could be dead wrong; but Gates knows full well and good what is going on, so there would have to be some sort of legitimate reason why he and these other groups are buying up America for pennies. They are not going to just throw away all their money away for nothing.
Agenda 2030: You’ll Own Nothing And Be Happy
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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in order for fake food to be consumed, they will have to make the price of real food extortionate
I did a report back in February where one of these fake meat companies keeps slashing their prices to undercut real meat, as that continues to inflate like a hot air balloon.
Another good question, who are the people selling the land to HIM? The left talks about gun manufactures having blood on their hands, well… Door swings both way people, they are not just selling land, they are selling out the human race. Just like the complicit doctors, politicians, cops, and soon military in the streets. They need to understand one thing: http://crn.hopto.org/include/vids/larkin/thetinydot.mp4
Soylent Green
If you control the food source… and then on top of it, if you control access to medicine… you control the masses.