McLean, Va.-based Gladstone Land Corp. has purchased two blueberry farms in Michigan.
The two farms total 516 acres and are near South Haven. They purchased for approximately $7.8 million, according to a news release. The farms include about 383 acres of blueberry bushes and roughly 6 acres of cranberries, according to the release, which did not name the previous owners/growers or who markets the berries.
The purchase includes two blueberry processing facilities and a fresh packing and cooling facility. Gladstone also said it has entered into a 10-year lease agreement on the farms with a blueberry grower and processor in the area.
“We are very pleased to expand our farmland holdings and tenant relationships in Michigan,” Joseph Van Wingerden, principal at Gladstone Land, said in the release. “Michigan is one of the top three states for blueberry production with average volumes ranging between 80 to 100 million pounds per year.”
“Both of these farms have extensive irrigation infrastructures with frost protection and access to multiple sources of water,” David Gladstone, president and CEO, said in the release. “ Our list of potential farms to purchase over the next several months is very robust, as we continue to grow.”
The company said that President Trump’s recent threat of tariffs on Mexico won’t hurt the company.
“Many of our fruit growers may even benefit if prices of produce from Mexico increase due to the tariffs,” Gladstone said in the release.
Gladstone Land now owns 89 farms with 75,344 acres in 10 states across the U.S. the release said, valued at approximately $657 million. The company said its acreage includes strawberries, blueberries, almonds, pistachios and vegetables,
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