ImpactAlpha, April 4 – The Seattle-based PCC Farmland Trust aims to conserve farmland for agricultural use. For the purchase of the 260-acre Renier Farm in Monroe, Wash., the trust raised $2.7 million with a 2%, seven-year note that was backed by 16 individual investors and one foundation.
The trust is testing investor interest as it tries to expand its financing options beyond standard mortgages and bridge loans in order to ramp up acquisitions.
- The problem… More than 70% of farmers nearing retirement don’t have a succession plan. “That’s when farmland is most vulnerable,” PCC Farmland Trust’s Melissa Campbell tells ImpactAlpha. Young farmers who would be interested in buying land can’t afford it. “We’re still losing land,” she says. “Development pressure in the Puget Sound region in particular is more intense than ever before.”
- On-ramp… PCC Farmland Trusts’ buy-hold-sell strategy is intended to serve as an on-ramp for young farmers and an off-ramp for retiring farmers.
