Fayetteville, Ark. -- AcreTrader, the platform providing investors access to the farmland asset class and providing farmers a platform to grow their businesses, responds to the growing demand for alternatives by introducing new vehicles for farmland investment.
While AcreTrader has historically forged relationships with well-known farmers and industry managers, its subsidiary AcreTrader Financial, LLC recently registered as a Broker-Dealer in early 2023, has significantly broadened its scope of services. This expansion allows AcreTrader Financial to partner with prominent ag-focused entities such as FBN Finance, Peoples Company, and Strongwater Viticultural Investments, offering investors distinctive opportunities and access.
Offering types with structures such as farm options, 1031 exchanges, Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs), and properties with sustainable ag practices as well as a vertically integrated vineyard were all accessible to accredited investors on the AcreTrader platform in 2023.
Among the novel deal structures introduced on the AcreTrader platform are two “farm options” offerings, sponsored by FBN Finance, LLC, a division of Farmers Business Network (FBN) whose mission is to power the prosperity of family farmers around the world. These offerings enable investors to participate in the potential value of off-market farms at a discount to fair market value while providing an innovative source of funding to farmers. AcreTrader Financial listed two farm option offerings, which both rapidly achieved full funding on the platform.
For investors seeking to access 1031 exchange-eligible funds, Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) provide a strategic avenue to invest in the farmland asset class. Notably, the platform currently features the DST: Central Washington Farmland Trust, sponsored by DST Farmland, LLC, an affiliate of Peoples Company, which is Section 1031 Exchange eligible, both when entering and exiting the ownership structure.
For those investors who are interested in making farmland investments where the underlying farms have a focus on sustainability, the AcreTrader platform provides offerings where the sponsors and farmers are focused on farming responsibly and sustainably. For example, at Braggadocio Farm, funded in August, the tenant, Steve McKaskell, has a longstanding commitment to sustainability focusing on all aspects of the property from water usage to soil preservation, in adherence to the AgriCapture standard. Additionally, the Templeton Preserve Vineyard, sponsored by the Strongwater Viticultural Investment team, currently on the platform, is situated in the Paso Robles AVA with an on-site winery and is SIP Certified.
To learn more, visit acretrader.com.