CLARIFICATION: Updated to add that some states have enacted regulations restricting the purchase of farmland by corporations; these laws vary in stringency and effectiveness. (March 20, 2023 3:45 p.m. MST)

The growing value of agricultural commodities is attracting deep-pocketed financial investors - like Bill Gates - and pushing land ownership out of reach for many, particularly beginning farmers and farmers of color.

Savi Horne, executive director of the North Carolina Association of Black lawyers' Land Loss Prevention Project, said since the start of the pandemic there has been more pressure for financial institutions and investors to acquire land, further driving up costs and complicating the struggle for racial equity in agriculture.

Horne contends the hefty price tag for good farmland is one of the biggest challenges. Average U.S. farmland prices increased 7% from June 2020 to June 2021, and 12% from June 2021 to June 2022, according to data from the USDA.

Horne's experience backs those figures up. "Most recently I heard from farmers who were looking two years back, in which they were saying that it was under $1,000 per acre, but now in that community, it's like about $3,000 to $5,000."

Costs are much higher in states like California, but "The financial industry is in the market for farmland" in a big way in the South, according to a deep dive into who's buying up agricultural land from the National Family Farm Coalition with a focus on the Mississippi Delta.

While some states have enacted regulations restricting the purchase of farmland by corporations, these laws vary in stringency and effectiveness. There are currently no federal laws specifically addressing the purchase of farmland by financial institutions, said Horne.

She makes the case that it is in the public's best interest to create a vibrant and diverse small farm sector, and suggests that the federal government could help by proactively purchasing farmland to level the playing field among farmers.

"Making land available, acquiring land and making it available - low cost to no cost to next-generation farmers if they're really serious about growing next-generation capacity to grow food and to participate in rural communities," Horne said.

She adds, Black farmers in particular face multiple land-loss threats, including the legacy of federal government discrimination in farm lending, and the lack of legal protections for the collective landownership form known as "heirs' property."

When a farm has been owned and/or shared by an extended family for multiple generations, the various heirs may lack clear title if formal probate was not processed completely with each successive owner's death. Those legal proceedings over generations of ownership can be expensive, complicated and time-consuming. If all the heirs can't prove legal ownership, there is a danger of losing the property.

Historically, this legal quandary occurs more frequently for Indigenous, Black and people of color communities whose families faced greater institutional challenges.


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Rural communities across Massachusetts are benefiting from state grants aimed at strengthening the local food supply and building climate resilience.

State officials have awarded nearly $4 million to help farmers improve soil health, upgrade irrigation systems and prepare for extreme weather events, including the current critical drought conditions.

Ashley Randle, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, said farms are helping the state meet its ambitious climate goals.

"They're a mitigation and resilience strategy so that farms can be best positioned to withstand the changing weather conditions that they are facing," Randle explained.

Randle pointed out grants will help farms improve efficiency and environmental controls and reduce greenhouse gases. Massachusetts has set a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

From cranberries to oysters, the majority of farms in Massachusetts are smaller, family-owned operations. Randle noted grants will help farmers purchase high tunnels and other equipment needed to extend their production season. She emphasized it helps secure jobs and provides income to local economies during the winter months.

"All of these grants are really helping to ensure that we have a stable food supply," Randle stressed. "And to continue to grow and adapt should there be climate change impacts like we saw last year that devastated the sector."

Last year, a deep freeze in February spoiled the peach crop while a late frost in May damaged most tree fruits. Significant flooding last summer severely damaged 13,000 acres, resulting in more than $65 million in losses. Randle added farms often face unpredictable factors but grant programs can help them adapt and thrive in the face of uncertainty.


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A Missouri-based farm group is fighting to keep the proposed "FARM Act" from becoming law, warning it would benefit large corporate farms at the expense of smaller ones.

The Farm Action Fund, a nonpartisan advocacy group, contended the proposed legislation in Congress, which is an extension of the five-year Farm Bill, would funnel more money to big corporate farms, giving them an unfair advantage and making it harder for small and mid-sized farms to survive.

Joe Maxwell, president of the Farm Action Fund, believes the legislation is making history but not in a good way.

"As far as I know, and I've been doing this for about 40 years, it's the first time there's been policy that would discriminate among the commodity crop growers in the United States, saying that the largest ones get more money," Maxwell explained. "Oftentimes, they're the ones that need the least money."

The National Farm Coalition reported 20% of farms control nearly 70% of U.S. farmland, which it said shows significant consolidation. If passed, The FARM Act would allocate around $21 billion in aid.

Nearly 90% of Missouri farms are smaller, family-owned operations. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, small farms are the backbone of U.S. agriculture. They make up 88% of all farms, controlling nearly half of the nation's farmland. Maxwell pointed out his organization is urging them to take a stand on the FARM Act, because the competition is formidable.

"I think it's the power of the dollar expressing itself in the halls of our United States Capitol," Maxwell contended. "The largest farmers have brought in the lobbyists and the trade organizations, to give them an upper hand."

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., and Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., are cosponsors of the FARM Act.


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As President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in next month, the farming community wonders if he'll follow through on tariff threats. One expert says for top soybean states such as North Dakota, farmers aren't in a great position to withstand any fallout.

The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture farm income forecast paints a gloomy picture, with declines in commodity prices dragging things down. And the incoming administration appears poised to enact more tariffs - as it did during Trump's first term.

Ben Palen, who runs the consulting firm Ag Management Partners, said this time around, there's increased political instability on the global front and greater export competition.

"I just don't think that you can have a coherent and consistent policy for agriculture if you go from one crisis to another," he said.

Trump regained strong support from agricultural counties in this election, but Palen said his fellow producers need to be prepared for what happens now that the votes have been counted. In Trump's first term, emergency aid was sent to farmers affected by the initial trade war. But Palen noted there's a strong push for the new administration to pursue budget cuts, so financial relief could be harder to come by.

Even though many farmers still back Trump, Palen said he feels this sector doesn't want to get swept up in trade rhetoric and have to be bailed out.

"I think farmers are very good at production," he said. "It's just part of our DNA; we want to produce, produce, produce."

He argued that it's up to policymakers to find new markets for farmers to sell their crops, as opposed to simply focusing on trade disputes.

Other voices, such as the Texas agriculture commissioner, have welcomed the idea of new tariffs, saying the U.S. needs to hold firm against countries such as China.

In the first trade war, U.S. agricultural export losses exceeded $27 billion.


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