Table of Contents >> Show >> Hide
- What FarmTogether Is (and What It Isn’t)
- Why Investors Look at Farmland in the First Place
- How FarmTogether Investments Typically Create Returns
- FarmTogether Offerings: The Practical Details That Actually Matter
- What to Look for in a FarmTogether Deal: A Due Diligence Checklist
- FarmTogether and 1031 Exchanges: A High-Impact Topic With Strict Rules
- Numbers You’ll Hear: Target Returns vs. Reality
- Who FarmTogether Might Be a Fit For (and Who Should Pass)
- How to Think About Farmland in a Portfolio
- Experience Section (Approx. ): What the FarmTogether Journey Typically Feels Like
- Conclusion: FarmTogether as a Gateway to FarmlandWith Eyes Wide Open
Farmland investing used to be a “bring-your-own-tractor” club: you needed deep pockets, local connections,
and the willingness to talk about soil drainage at dinner parties. FarmTogether’s pitch is simple:
let accredited investors access institutional-style U.S. farmland opportunities without personally
hunting for properties, negotiating leases, or learning (the hard way) what “frost risk” means.
This guide breaks down how FarmTogether works, why farmland can be an interesting alternative asset,
the real-world tradeoffs (spoiler: it’s not day-trading corn), and how to evaluate an offering like an adult
even if you’d rather not become the kind of person who says “cap rate” in casual conversation.
Important: This article is educational, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Private real-asset deals can be risky and illiquid. If you’re under 18, involve a parent/guardian and a qualified professional before making any money decisions.
What FarmTogether Is (and What It Isn’t)
FarmTogether is a farmland investment manager and platform focused on connecting investors with curated
farmland opportunities. In plain English: instead of buying a whole farm yourself, you invest alongside other
investors (or through larger, customized structures), and the farmland is managed with the goal of producing
returns from operating income (like rent/leases) and long-term land appreciation.
Common structures you’ll see
- Fractional “crowdfunded” deals: Typically organized with an LLC created for an individual property, where investors own membership interests proportional to their investment.
- Fund-style option(s): A diversified portfolio approach that may include different farms/regions/crops, with fund-level rules around liquidity and lockups.
- Higher-minimum custom routes: For investors who want more control, some platforms offer bespoke or direct/sole-ownership-style solutions (usually with much larger minimums).
- 1031-eligible structures (for some offerings): Certain deal types may be designed to support like-kind exchanges for investors who are eligible and working with qualified intermediaries/tax pros.
What it isn’t: a savings account, a public stock you can sell at 10:31 a.m. because your vibe changed,
or a guaranteed inflation-proof money fountain. Farmland can be resilient, but it’s still a real asset with real risks.
Why Investors Look at Farmland in the First Place
Farmland has a reputation for being “boring in a comforting way.” It can generate returns from two main engines:
(1) income (cash rent or lease payments, sometimes crop-related revenue) and (2) appreciation
(the land itself can rise in value over time). The mix depends on crop type, local economics, water availability,
and the specific operating/lease structure.
Farmland has a real, measurable economic footprint
U.S. farmland values are tracked by government and university sources, and the big picture matters because it
sets the “starting price” for any deal. Recent USDA reporting has shown continued increases in average farmland value,
though the pace can change with interest rates, commodity cycles, and regional factors.
Potential diversification benefits (with a reality check)
Investors often consider farmland as an alternative to traditional stocks and bonds because it is tied to
real assets and food/fiber production. That doesn’t mean it’s immune to macro forces. Land values can be sensitive
to interest rates (higher rates can pressure valuations), and farm economics can be squeezed if commodity prices fall
or input costs rise.
How FarmTogether Investments Typically Create Returns
Most farmland deals aim to combine ongoing cash flow with a longer-term value story. Here’s the standard blueprint:
1) Cash yield (income)
Many properties are leased to an operator (a farmer or farm manager) under a cash rent or similar agreement.
In a “rent-first” structure, the investor experience can look more like collecting rent than running an operating business.
Cash distributions are often targeted periodically (for example, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually),
but they are not guaranteed.
2) Appreciation (the land value over time)
Over multi-year holding periods, the land can appreciate based on local demand, productivity improvements,
water reliability, and broader market trends. Appreciation is usually a meaningful part of total return in farmland,
which is one reason these investments are often structured as long-term holds rather than quick flips.
3) Operational “value-add” (when applicable)
Some deals may include improvementsthings like irrigation upgrades, orchard redevelopment, better farm infrastructure,
or professionalized managementto potentially increase long-run productivity and cash flow. Value-add can raise upside,
but it can also raise execution risk (projects can run over budget and weather does not negotiate).
FarmTogether Offerings: The Practical Details That Actually Matter
Marketing headlines are cute, but investors live (and sometimes suffer) in the details: eligibility, fees,
holding period, and liquidity. Here’s how to think about those pieces on FarmTogether-style offerings.
Eligibility: accredited investors and private offerings
Many farmland private placements are limited to accredited investors. “Accredited” generally means meeting
certain income, net worth, or professional criteria set by securities regulations. If you’re not sure whether you qualify,
treat that as a sign to slow down and speak to a qualified professionalprivate investments are designed for people
who can evaluate and bear higher risks, including the possibility of losing the entire investment.
Minimum investment: accessible (for farmland), still not small
Fractional farmland platforms often set minimums in the five-figure range. FarmTogether has promoted minimums
that can start around the mid–five figures for certain offerings, while some fund-style or specialized products may have
higher minimums. In farmland, “small” is relativecompared with buying a whole farm, it’s approachable; compared with
a low-cost index fund, it’s a commitment.
Fees: know what you’re paying and what you’re getting
Fees vary by deal structure, crop type, and management complexity. Common categories include:
- One-time or closing/admin fees: charged at the start for setup, due diligence, and deal execution.
- Annual management fees: ongoing fees for asset management, reporting, farm/operator oversight, and administration.
- Performance or incentive fees: sometimes applied based on operating revenue, rent, or returns above a hurdlestructure matters, so read the PPM carefully.
A fair way to judge fees is to ask: “What hard problems are these fees solving?” Sourcing, underwriting, legal structure,
operator selection, oversight, and eventual sale are real work. But fees can also quietly eat returns if the underlying
farm economics disappoint. Your job is to evaluate whether the net (after-fee) return assumptions are realistic.
Holding period and liquidity: farmland is not a speed sport
Many farmland offerings target multi-year holding periodsoften measured in “years” not “months”because a big piece
of the return can come from long-run appreciation. Some products may offer limited redemption windows or quarterly
liquidity after an initial lockup, but that’s not the same thing as a public market. Liquidity can be constrained, and
early exits (if available) may involve discounts or limited buyer demand.
What to Look for in a FarmTogether Deal: A Due Diligence Checklist
If you’re evaluating a FarmTogether opportunity, imagine you’re buying a business that depends on weather,
biology, and the laws of physics. Then act accordingly.
Property fundamentals
- Location and region: local water conditions, labor access, logistics, and long-term agricultural viability.
- Soil and productivity: soil type, historical yields (where relevant), drainage, and constraints.
- Water: source reliability (surface water vs. wells), rights/permits, drought exposure, and long-term costs.
- Crop type: permanent crops (nuts, fruit, citrus) vs. row crops (corn, soybeans, wheat) have different risk/return profiles and timelines.
Operator and lease economics
- Who is farming it? Track record, balance sheet strength, and operational expertise.
- Lease structure: cash rent vs. other arrangements; rent reset terms; responsibility for repairs and capex.
- Cost pressures: inputs, labor, insurance, water, and compliance coststhese influence what an operator can pay sustainably.
Deal structure and alignment
- Read the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM): fees, risks, conflicts, voting rights, and distributions are in herenot in the glossy deck.
- Debt (if any): leverage can boost returns and amplify risk. Understand interest-rate exposure and refinancing assumptions.
- Exit plan: who is the likely buyer at sale (institutional, local farmers, strategic operators) and what drives value at exit?
Risk factors you should not hand-wave
- Weather and climate: drought, flood, heat stress, frost, hurricanesregion and crop determine which one keeps you up at night.
- Commodity and market risk: even “steady” crops can face price swings and demand shifts.
- Biological risks: pests and disease are not hypothetical; they’re Tuesday.
- Regulatory risk: water policy, environmental regulations, labor rules, and land-use changes.
- Illiquidity: you may not be able to sell when you want, at the price you want.
FarmTogether and 1031 Exchanges: A High-Impact Topic With Strict Rules
FarmTogether has promoted a 1031 exchange program for certain real-property interest structures. A 1031 exchange
can allow an investor to defer capital gains taxes by exchanging qualifying investment/business real property for other
like-kind real propertybut the rules are strict, and mistakes can be expensive.
The rules that trip people up
- It must be qualifying real property held for investment or business use (not personal-use property).
- Timing matters: replacement property generally must be identified within 45 days, and received within 180 days (or the tax return due date, whichever is earlier).
- You’ll likely need a qualified intermediary (QI): you generally can’t take constructive receipt of the proceeds and still qualify.
Translation: if you’re exploring a 1031 into farmland, treat it like a coordinated project with your tax advisor,
QI, and the sponsor. It’s not “click here to magically erase taxes.” It’s “do the paperwork or the IRS does it for you.”
Numbers You’ll Hear: Target Returns vs. Reality
FarmTogether materials and third-party reviews often discuss “target” net returns, IRR ranges, and cash yield expectations.
Targets can be useful for understanding the sponsor’s underwriting assumptions, but they are not promises.
Your realized returns depend on rental performance, expenses, management execution, and market pricing at exit.
Why targets can miss
- Cash rent can lag behind land values (or vice versa), changing the income-to-price relationship.
- Interest-rate shifts can change what buyers are willing to pay for land.
- Regional factors (water, crop economics, regulation) can overwhelm “national averages.”
- Fees matter more in slow-and-steady assetssmall drags compound over long holds.
A smart mindset is to stress-test assumptions. If everything goes “fine but not fabulous,” does the deal still make sense?
If the farm has a rough two-year patch, does it have the resilience to recover?
Who FarmTogether Might Be a Fit For (and Who Should Pass)
Potential fit
- Accredited investors who want real-asset diversification and can commit capital long-term.
- Investors who prefer a managed approach rather than sourcing and operating farmland directly.
- People who value property-level transparency and can handle private-offering paperwork.
- Those who already have a solid core portfolio and want alternatives as a smaller allocation.
Probably not a fit
- Anyone who needs near-term liquidity or might need the money back “just in case.”
- Investors chasing quick wins, meme-level volatility, or daily price action.
- Anyone uncomfortable reading offering documents or asking hard questions about fees and risk.
- People without an emergency fund or with high-interest debtfarmland won’t refinance your credit card.
How to Think About Farmland in a Portfolio
Farmland is often positioned as a long-term, lower-correlation real asset. That can be true, but it should still be
treated as part of an overall plan, not a personality trait. Most investors who use alternatives responsibly:
keep the bulk of their money in diversified, liquid holdings; then allocate a smaller slice to illiquid alternatives
where the risk/return profile adds something genuinely different.
A practical approach is to compare farmland not to the “best year ever” in stocks, but to what it’s actually competing with:
long-duration real estate, inflation-sensitive assets, and other alternatives. Then decide whether the liquidity tradeoff
is worth it for your goals.
Experience Section (Approx. ): What the FarmTogether Journey Typically Feels Like
Let’s talk about the part nobody puts on a billboard: the experience of investing in farmland through a platform
like FarmTogether. Not the fantasy version where you sip iced tea on a porch while your money grows like a time-lapse
sunflower. The real versionstill interesting, sometimes rewarding, but definitely not instant.
First, the emotional shift: you stop thinking in “days” and start thinking in “seasons.” A public stock can change
mood before lunch. A farm changes mood after rainfall. When you review a farmland offering, you’re not just scanning
a tickeryou’re reading about crop types, water sources, operator plans, lease terms, and what happens if Mother Nature
decides to freestyle. It’s oddly grounding. Also oddly humbling.
Next comes the paperwork reality. Private offerings tend to involve more forms, more disclosures, and more
“please confirm you understand that this is risky” checkboxes than most people expect. It can feel like the platform
is asking, “Are you sure you’re an adult?” multiple times. That friction is not necessarily badit’s a reminder
that you’re stepping into a less liquid, more complex corner of investing.
After investing, patience becomes the main feature, not a bonus. Updates are typically periodicthink quarterly
reports, operator notes, and performance summaries rather than minute-by-minute price moves. Some investors love this,
because it’s less emotionally noisy. Others find it unsettling, because “no updates” can feel like “nothing is happening,”
even when the farm is doing exactly what farms do: growing, producing, leasing, and quietly compounding value.
Cash distributions (when they occur) tend to feel less like winning the lottery and more like receiving rent:
satisfying, steady, and not something you should plan your entire personality around. And if distributions are lower
in a given period, the reason is usually practicalrepairs, capital improvements, seasonal timing, or conservative reserve
decisionsrather than a dramatic plot twist. Farmland drama is typically slow drama. It’s basically prestige TV.
The “aha” moment for many investors is realizing how much outcomes depend on fundamentals: water reliability,
operator quality, local land markets, and the discipline of not overpaying. The “uh-oh” moment is realizing that those
same fundamentals can change. Drought policy shifts. Input costs rise. Interest rates move. A crop faces new disease
pressure. None of that makes farmland “bad.” It just makes it real.
Finally, there’s the long-game mindset. Many farmland deals are designed around multi-year holds, and the exit is part
of the story. Investors often learn to judge success not by whether every quarter is perfect, but by whether the property
is well-managed, resilient, and positioned to be attractive to future buyers. If you want an investment that trains you
to think long-term, farmland absolutely understands the assignment.
Conclusion: FarmTogether as a Gateway to FarmlandWith Eyes Wide Open
FarmTogether aims to make U.S. farmland investing more accessible to accredited investors by packaging sourcing,
underwriting, and management into a platform experience. The upside is exposure to a real asset class with potential
income and appreciation, plus the possibility of specialized structures like 1031-eligible offerings for the right investor.
The tradeoffs are equally real: private-offering complexity, long holding periods, limited liquidity, and risks tied to
weather, markets, water, and execution.
If you’re considering FarmTogether, focus less on the “farmland is cool” storyline (it is) and more on the boring
fundamentals: fees, operator quality, water, and realistic underwriting. The best farmland investors aren’t the ones
who romanticize farmsthey’re the ones who respect them.