Farmland LP announced that its second fund, Vital Farmland REIT LLC (Fund II), has surpassed $100 million in equity commitments and is on target to reach its $150 million goal by the final closing date in December.
The investment included participation from previous Farmland LP Fund I investors, institutional investors and their consultants, family offices, clients from numerous wealth management advisory firms, and accredited individual investors. Vital Farmland REIT LLC is Farmland LP’s second fund since the firm’s inception in 2009, and the proceeds will be used to continue to invest in high value add projects on Fund II farms in Oregon and Washington.
“The strong response to Fund II confirms that investors are recognizing the merits of organic and regenerative farming,” said Craig Wichner, CEO of Farmland LP. “Farmland is a $2.7 trillion asset class in the U.S., offering investors consistent and stable returns. In today’s environment with significant increases in the money supply and continued inflationary pressure, U.S. farmland offers investors a lower-risk, non-correlated investment opportunity as a hedge against inflation. And our value-add approach to actively managing the farmland in our funds is expected to generate returns to investors in excess of those available in the broader farmland sector. Additionally, our regenerative farming practices and focus on converting conventional farmland to organic offer investors the tangible ESG benefits they are seeking, but seldom finding, in their fund managers today.”
The funding milestone follows a year of strong growth for Farmland LP. Earlier this year, Farmland LP earned the highest corporate-sustainability rating awarded by HIP Investor Inc., a leading ESG and sustainability-ratings firm. In April 2021, Farmland LP was also featured in the Fortune Q2/2021 Investment Guide as top pick in the real asset category.
