Lessons From the Delta, Part 3: How Investors Are Buying Farmland

About this episode

The episode discusses how farmland transitions from farmers to investors, focusing on investment platforms like AcreTrader and their impact on agricultural land ownership.

Lessons From the Delta continues — this time focusing on how farmland moves from farmers to investors and back again. In Episode 3 of the Purdue Commercial AgCast mini-series, Chad Fiechter and Todd Kuethe speak with Colson Tester of AcreTrader about how farmland investment platforms identify properties, evaluate land values, and structure investments for accredited investors. While farmland has long attracted institutional capital, platforms like AcreTrader are opening the door for retail investors to participate in agricultural land ownership. But farmland investing works differently than most asset classes — deals are often sourced locally, data can be limited, and success depends heavily on working with the farmers operating the land. The conversation explores: • How farmland investment platforms source and evaluate farms• Why buying land at or below market value is critical for long-term returns• How farms are structured as investment offerings for retail investors• Typical hold periods and expected return targets for farmland investments• Why many farmland acquisitions involve sale-leaseback arrangements with operators During the trip, the group also visited one of the…

People in this episode

Hosts: Chad Fiechter, Todd Kuethe

Guest: Colson Tester

Topics covered

• farmland investment
• agricultural land ownership
• investment platforms
• local sourcing
• land value evaluation
• retail investors
• sale-leaseback arrangements

Keywords

• farmland
• investment
• AcreTrader
• agriculture
• land value
• retail investors
• sale-leaseback
• Delta agriculture

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AcreTrader

Places: Mississippi Delta

More episodes of Purdue Commercial AgCast

• Why Profitable Farms Still Run Out of Cash · May 20, 2026 · 39 min
• Farmer Sentiment Is Falling Amid Higher Input Costs · May 6, 2026 · 15 min
• Lessons From the Delta, Part 8: Why Ducks Are More Valuable Than Crops in the Delta · April 22, 2026 · 30 min
• Lessons From the Delta, Part 7: How Rice Farmers Cut $31/Acre Water Costs · April 15, 2026 · 12 min
• Farm Sentiment Is Up… So Why Are Farmers Still Worried? · April 8, 2026 · 19 min
• Lessons From the Delta, Part 6: Farming with No Margin for Error · April 1, 2026 · 26 min