Category: News & Media

Worried about inflation? Invest in organic farmland

Written by Lacey Benz on April 26, 2021. Posted in News & Media.

“Now is a very good time to invest in one of human civilization’s oldest and most reliable sources of wealth… farmland.” Justin Anderson, Yahoo Finance The rising fear of inflation is causing many investors to direct their money toward bonds or alternative asset classes instead of the stock market. Despite investors’ concerns, the Federal Reserve continues to hold rates steady, calling any inflation increases “transitory” amid the government stimulus. For investors...

Iroquois Valley named to the IA 50 for the ninth year in a row

Written by Lacey Benz on February 25, 2021. Posted in News & Media.

Iroquois Valley was named an Emeritus Manager by ImpactAssets in its annual IA 50. This year, ImpactAssets celebrates its tenth year curating its widely recognized list of impact investment fund managers. According to ImpactAssets, the IA 50 is an annual showcase of companies dedicated to making impact investments, offering a gateway into the world of impact investing for investors and their financial advisors. The IA 50 offers an easy way to identify experienced and emerging impact...

A partnership to support diverse, beginning farmers access more money

Written by Lacey Benz on January 23, 2021. Posted in News & Media.

A project funded in fall 2020, led by Food Finance Institute (FFI), is on a mission to lower the risk of beginning farm investments to make them more attractive to funders. The project is funded through a $387,000, three-year Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Program grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. FFI will work with funders, investors and beginning farmers to create and provide a financial technical assistance (TA) program that will provide beginning...

Innovative financing to help restore soil health

Written by Lacey Benz on November 10, 2020. Posted in News & Media.

Iroquois Valley’s Soil Restoration Notes are an innovative conservation financing tool that provides investors a return and enables farmers to invest in the land. These notes specifically target support for soil health and the organic transition. This work was partially funded by a Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grant. Conservation Innovation Grants are three-year grants – ours was funded in 2016 and was completed in September 2019. Our...

Rodale Institute invests $2 million into Iroquois Valley

Written by Lacey Benz on October 19, 2020. Posted in News & Media. 4 Comments on Rodale Institute invests $2 million into Iroquois Valley

Rodale Institute, the global leader of regenerative organic agriculture, is “putting its money where its mouth is” by investing 2 million dollars with Iroquois Valley Farmland Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), a farmland finance company that works with mission-driven investors to provide organic and regenerative farmers land security through long-term leases and mortgages. The Board of Directors at Rodale Institute approved the decision to invest a portion of the...

Our Public Benefit Report

Written by Lacey Benz on July 6, 2020. Posted in News & Media.

Iroquois Valley is proud to release its first public benefit report. We incorporated our company as a public benefit corporation in 2016 to build into our structure our intent to create public benefit. We intend to create public benefit by enabling healthy food production, restoring soil, and improving water quality through the establishment of secure and sustainable farmland tenure. Read our public benefit report here. This report builds on our history of impact reports, which...

Iroquois Valley partners with the Organic Farming Research Foundation

Written by Lacey Benz on April 30, 2020. Posted in News & Media.

Iroquois Valley is proud to partner with the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) by supporting their research to learn more about the challenges and research priorities of organic farmers and ranchers, as well as farmers and ranchers transitioning land to certified organic production. The project includes two national surveys—one for certified organic producers, and the other for producers transitioning to organic certification. The project includes two national surveys—one for...

Iroquois Valley awarded a 2019 Conservation Innovation Grant

Written by Lacey Benz on January 3, 2020. Posted in News & Media.

Iroquois Valley was awarded a $700,000 Conservation Innovation Grant from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). Our project will focus on supporting our farmers beyond land tenure through operating capital and improving farm viability. The funding is provided through the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program, which is funding the future of agriculture and conservation through grants to organizations and universities that are developing the next generation of...

Holiday Gift Guide

Written by Lacey Benz on December 10, 2019. Posted in News & Media.

Iroquois Valley is pleased to release its first annual holiday gift guide, featuring products grown by our farmers. All products below can be purchased online. View the gift guide as a PDF here. Make sure to check our Instagram & Facebook pages for more gift ideas from our farmers available at select farmers markets. Organic Milled GrainsMeadowlark Organics – WisconsinVisit their online store here Organic Milled Grains & Gift Boxes Janie’s Mill – IllinoisView...

Organic farmers to harvest record acres in 2019

Written by Lacey Benz on November 14, 2019. Posted in News & Media.

Organic agriculture is growing – in 2019, 8.3 million acres were planted and certified organic in the US. This equates to 18,155 organic farms and a 3% jump from 2018. Mercaris, a leading data provider for organic and non-gmo markets, recently released their Annual Acreage Report and Organic Farm Heat Map, which highlights density and distribution of US organic farm operations. Highlights of the report include: Organic grain farmers will harvest a record amount of acres in...