Farmland Values Hit Record Highs, Pricing Out Farmers

Small farmers are now going up against deep-pocketed investors, including private equity firms and real estate developers. Read our take on The New York Times new report. The price of U.S. farmland has soared 12.4% over the last two years, thanks to a perfect storm — a derecho in this case — of inflation in both commodity crops and housing, coupled with generous government subsidies propping up farm activities. The result has been a windfall for investors (who own 40% of U.S. farmland) and a squeeze on small farmers unable to acquire land — or do so only at the steep price of debt.

The New York Times’ Linda Qiu notes that farmland has became a highly desirable hedge against volatility for pension funds, private equity, and even Bill Gates — now the largest private owner of farmland in the country.

But as climate change alters both weather and demographic patterns across the United States, the value of that land is certain to change due to crop yields, housing starts, water availability, and much more.

Climate Alpha’s Climate Price™analytics suite offers risk-adjusted valuations for every year out to 2040, along with our patent-pending scenario forecaster for evaluating valuations under multiple climate conditions.