Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI) (the “Company”) announced that it purchased 815 acres of cropland in Mississippi County, Missouri for a total consideration of $6.5 million. This nearly all tillable property consists of 802 tillable acres that has been precision leveled to 1% grade. The farm is irrigated and located near the town of East Prairie, Missouri and will primarily grow rice, corn, and soybeans. The farm will be leased for three years at a current yield of approximately 4%. This acquisition allowed the farmer to expand his operation and acquire another farm close by their main operation. The Company intends to expand its portfolio in Missouri during the next few years.
The Company has also recently acquired two properties in central Illinois. The first farm consists of 80 acres, of which 70 are irrigated, in an area of Mason County, Illinois that produces a large quantity of specialty crops such as potatoes, sweet corn, popcorn, green beans, and pumpkins along with yellow corn, soybeans and wheat. The second farm consists of 178 acres in Marshall County, Illinois of very high-quality soils. The Company is expecting to receive a current annual return of 3.5% on these recent Illinois acquisitions.
“We are pleased to add these high-quality farms to the portfolio and to acquire our first Missouri farm,” said Paul A. Pittman, the Company’s Chairman and CEO. “Midwest row crop farms with good soil and abundant water are good long-term investments and the backbone of the worldwide food production system. ”
Farmland Partners Inc. is an internally managed real estate company that owns and seeks to acquire high-quality North American farmland and makes loans to farmers secured by farm real estate. As of the date of this release, the Company owns and/or manages approximately 167,000 acres in 17 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virginia. We have approximately 26 crop types and over 100 tenants. The Company elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2014.
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