Last week was the spring equinox, a time usually met with anticipation and excitement for the upcoming growing season. With the spread of coronavirus, spring feels different this year –– we are collectively experiencing changes in our daily lives as we do what's needed to protect public health. At Iroquois Valley, we are now operating as a fully remote staff and are working hard to support our farmers, grow our business by working with new farmers, and connect with mission-aligned investors.
We have been through crisis before: we started business in 2007 as the last recession unfolded. The recession motivated us to create an opportunity for investors to invest in something real and healthy –– farmland. We grew slowly and steadily by building relationships with individual farmers and investors.
Today, we are backed by hundreds of investors of all sizes. Our
REIT equity shares are now available to non-accredited investors and have an accessible minimum of just over $10,000, offering a wide range of investors the opportunity to diversify their portfolio with a real asset during a time of great volatility in the public equities market.
We also have a new offering of
Soil Restoration Notes that pays investors 2.25% per year (an increasingly attractive rate) and puts an additional 0.5% into the Soil Restoration pool, which supports farmers building soil health and transitioning land to USDA Organic.
Within the context of our current moment, we believe our work has heightened importance: we will always need farmers who care for the land and grow healthy food. When we emerge from this crisis, we hope that we have a more regenerative economy that values people and planet.
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Left: vegetables seeded indoors at
Featherstone Farm
in Minnesota. Read Featherstone's response to the COVID-19 crisis
here
.
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Our work has always been about transformation – within agriculture and within finance. With turmoil on Wall Street and throughout the financial sector, we see stability in our investment in land. By working with farmers who are building healthy soil through organic and regenerative practices, we believe their investment in the land and in their communities are creating real, positive impacts. Learn more by reading our new white paper,
Soil Health On Organic Farms: An Investment In Farming's Future and by checking out our new
soil health web content.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how important our communities are –– we are in this together. As we move through this uncertainty, we know that spring is, in fact, here: our farmers are planting seeds, raising newborn animals in their herds, and preparing for the upcoming growing season.
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How to support our farmers – buy their products online
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Our portfolio is incredibly diverse –– we work with small and middle-size family farmers selling into many different markets. The majority of our farmers sell to wholesalers, distributors, processors, cooperatives, and producers. Those that have direct sales as part of their business have been adapting through increased online sales and by building efficient delivery systems to get their products to their communities.
We compiled a list of our farmers that offer products like flour, grains, beans, meat, and more online, with shipping available nationwide. Included on the list are also farmers who have items available for local delivery.
In these turbulent times, we hope you find comfort in good food.
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Support a 100% grass-fed organic dairy farm
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Iroquois Valley farmer, Ashley Snow-Osborne, raises organic dairy cattle on pasture in southern Illinois. We partnered with Ashley and her family a few years ago to provide mortgage refinancing to improve cash flow on the farm. Last year, Ashley transitioned from organic dairy production to a fully grass-fed organic system, and experienced some challenges along the way. Last year's particularly wet spring and summer affected their ability to grow high quality hay for winter, which led to purchasing hay off-farm. Ashley has started a GoFundMe to recoup losses and prepare for the upcoming season. We appreciate any support for Ashley's business and welcome your help getting the word out.
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The information contained on this website is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security, insurance product, or service. Any product or service discussed in this website is intended for and is only appropriate for accredited and institutional investors and other qualified purchasers as determined by current SEC regulations and orders. The information available on this website is for informational purposes only.
Securities involve risk, and investment may result in a partial or total loss. Some of the statements herein may constitute forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described in offering circulars prepared for the purpose of offering and selling securities by Iroquois Valley. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Any historical returns, expected returns, or probability projections may not reflect actual future performance.
Iroquois Valley and its affiliates are not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. It is strongly recommended that any purchase or sale decision be discussed with a financial advisor, tax advisor, broker-dealer, or a member of any financial regulatory body. The information contained herein has been provided as an information service only. The accuracy or completeness of the information is not warranted and is only as reliable as the sources from which it was obtained.
In particular, Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT, PBC is offering its common stock for sale pursuant to Tier 2 of Regulation A+, and as such intends to be exempted from state qualification pursuant to federal law. Offerings are only made through our
Offering Circular
, available here. No offer to sell securities or solicitation of an offer to buy securities is being made herein or in any state where such offer or sale is not permitted under the blue sky or state securities laws thereof. No offer to sell securities or solicitation of an offer to buy securities is being made in the following states: AL, AR, ND, OK, and WV.
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CONNECTING FARM FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, AND INVESTORS SINCE 2007
As a corporate guideline, we do not look for specific farmland to purchase or finance. We develop relationships with farmers, mostly young and organic, who want to grow their farm business. We move forward when we have a ready, willing and able farmer.
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Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT | Public Benefit Corporation
Certified
B
Corporation | Est. 2007
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