Nearly 42,000 Acres of Farmland Sold to Mormon Church for $289 Million

An all-cash deal of $289 million has been finalized with nearly 42,000 acres of farmland across 46 farms being sold to Farmland Reserve, an entity of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Successful Farming/January 24, 2025

By Charmayne Hefley

In October 2024, a sale of 41,554 acres of farmland across a portfolio of 46 farms was sold by Farmland Partners Inc. to Farmland Reserve, Inc., an entity of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for $289 million.

Who Is Farmland Partners?

Farmland Partners Inc. is an internally managed real estate company that owns more than 140,000 acres of farmland across 15 states and makes loans to farmers secured by farm real estate. The company went public in 2014, and has since purchased more than 300 farms through various transactions with other investors, landlords, and farmers.

Farmland Details

Paul Pittman, the executive chairman for Farmland Partners Inc., said the recent sale included multiple tracts of land across eight states, including Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The acres sold were predominantly grain farms, as well as soybean and cotton farms, Pittman said.


When asked how this sale might impact local farmers, Pittman said the sale helps bring “another high-quality investor in the local region.”

While Pittman acknowledged concerns that farmers and ranchers might have regarding the sale of the nearly 42,000 acres of farmland and the impacts it might have on local communities, he said this sale doesn’t change things locally in a meaningful way. In fact, he said that it’s just the transfer of land from one remote non-farmer owner to another. This is because Farmland Reserve has already made the commitment to maintain the same farmer tenants who are currently on the land, Pittman said.

Additionally, Pittman said that Farmland Reserve was the investor they chose to sell to because of their reputation as excellent long-term land stewards. “They very seldom sell farms,” Pittman said. “Farmland Reserve may own this land for 50 years or more.”

Farmland Partners has also owned many of the tracts they’ve sold to Farmland Reserve for nearly 10 years, Pittman said. “It’s not like we’re land flippers.”

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