Rodale invests $2 million to increase land access for organic farmers

Rodale Institute is using “impact investing” by putting $2 million with  

Iroquois Valley Farmland Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), a farmland finance company that provides organic and regenerative farmers land security through long-term leases, mortgages, and lines of credit.

Rodale, long-time researcher of regenerative organic practices, is one of the top five shareholders in Iroquois Valley—in hopes of generating more organic acreage.

While the organic market topped $55 billion in 2019, only 1% of U.S. farmland is organic—land access and capital remain significant barriers. Iroquois Valley will purchase farmland and support creation and expansion of organic operations worldwide. Its current portfolio includes over 60 farms on more than 13,000 acres in 15 states.

“More land in organic production is essential to changing both our food and healthcare systems,” said Iroquois Valley co-founder Dr. Stephen Rivard.

Main Street Project in Northfield, Minnesota is an example of Rodale’s investment. The initiative uses a poultry-based regenerative system to develop farming opportunities for Latinx immigrants. The Project has scaled up to a 100-acre farm where the economic, ecological, and social impacts of regenerative livestock at the family-farm level can be measured.

Source: Rodale Institute

To learn more, visit: https://iroquoisvalley.com/