Investment Farm

If Old MacDonald had an investment farm, he’d be thrilled to have a moo-moo here and a cluck-cluck there…as long as those moo-moos and cluck-clucks were making him money. That’s because investment farms are farms, or other agricultural enterprises, that are purchased specifically to make money.

Investment farm owners aren’t in it for the thrill of growing their own food or bonding with a pack of backyard chickens...oh no. They’re in it for the Benjamins. In fact, the owners of these farms usually don’t even live on the property. They pay people to farm the land for them, and they also pay for any equipment, feed, or other operational expenses. Then, when the farm makes a profit, they do too.

So do investment farms spell the end of the road for the family-owned farms we all know and love? Not at all, say the experts. A well-run family-owned farm can be just as profitable—or even more profitable—than a well-run investment farm. And while the number of family-owned farms in the U.S. continues to decrease, the financial health of the strong ones seems to be clucking right along.