Over the past few years, we’ve tracked the success of Farmland LP, a family of funds created to increase the economic yield of farmland through sustainable farming practices.
Their approach is notable in a number of ways. It seeks to improves the quality of the underlying land. To avoid use of fossil inputs. To increase the yield per acre. To enable the production of vegetables, grains, and meats on acreage that before was monocrop. To employ more farmers per farm. To be more profitable than conventional farming. To improve the food resiliency of the local community. To reduce its dependency on liquid fuel transport by serving local markets. To generate annual returns for its shareholders, plus appreciation on their share of the underlying farmland.
The team believes there is an arbitrage in value that can be unlocked by reversing the damage modern farming has done to the land. For a detailed write up of how exactly they’re pursuing this, read my first-hand account while visiting their largest farming parcel in California.
http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/12/farmland-lp-investing-sustainable-farmland-2016-update/