Panelists discuss how rural America has been affected by recent tariffs and intermittent trade wars with U.S. trading partners, and the implications for global trade and the U.S. economy. Speakers include Shonda Warner, Managing Partner, Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners, Jim Mintert, Professor and Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, and Director, Center for Commercial Agriculture, Purdue University, and Brian Kuehl, Director, Federal Affairs, K Coe Isom; Executive Director, Farmers for Free Trade. Watch the discussion here....
May 7, 2018 AgFunder News by Emma Cosgrove Farmland investor Shonda Warner has a rare position in the world of agtech. As managing partner at Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners and an occasional angel investor in tech startups, she plays the role of both investor and user, as Chess Ag is both landlord and farmer on much of its 50,000 acre portfolio. Warner grew up in rural Nebraska in a farming family and got her start in finance working as a trader for Cargill in Kansas City. In 2006 she returned to agriculture and started Chess Ag, one of the first agriculture investment funds in the country. Chess Ag manages now roughly $150 million in assets across the US making Warner what she herself calls “the ultimate user” of agtech solutions. We caught up with Warner to find out where frustrations with agtech startups start for farmers, and what low commodities prices mean for tech startups. What do you see as the main challenges for agtech adoption? We’ve spent our lives as farmers and have seen many advancements and failures. Young and well-meaning people come into the game and they believe fully they have the latest thing, and of course, some do and some don’t. People from the outside don’t tend to give credit to all the people who came before them, this is really frustrating for farmers. There are often reasons beyond technology as to why applications don’t work. Perhaps more of a meeting of the minds would help in this area. There is a fantastic crop of new, young farmers coming along, but farming is extremely capital-intensive; it’s very difficult for...
March 5, 2018, Trust in Food by Nate Birt The investment community can support rural U.S. communities desperately in need of attention by providing farmers with comfortable salaries and sharing business risk, says Shonda Warner, founder and managing partner of Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners. Chess Ag implements environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices into the farms it operates by using conservation practices where they make sense, precisely applying fertilizer and water and adopting technology that adds efficiency. In the following Q-and-A article, Warner shares her thoughts the role of investors in the rapidly changing food system. Ag capital is attempting to provide access to better food. What makes it better? What are the criteria used to determine food quality currently on the market? Institutional investors and investment funds are providing an additional source of capital into our farm economy. While small compared to family ownership–varying between 5% and 10% of cropland–institutional investors provide an additional source of much-needed capital, contributing to healthier rural communities and food diversity and quality. Do ag investment firms look for anything particular when looking for investing prospects? Internal or external reporting? If so what frameworks are preferred? Ag investment firms consider a wide range of factors when assessing the quality of a farm or agribusiness investment. We look at the potential for returns, consider the risk and how to manage those risks using various mitigation tools as well as the potential length of the investment. We are continually monitoring financial and agricultural market trends and are aware that each farm and situation is unique. Are you implementing or requiring conservation practices on the farms you manage? And if so what...
Participants talked about rising prices on farmland and investment speculation that the rising prices had encouraged. The price of farmland in America had doubled over the past decade. Low interest rates and record high crop prices had further spurred interest in investment. Shonda’s comments can be observed...
As Matt Palmer looks around Arizona’s Gila Valley, he sees it through the eyes of family and farming. Others see the mountain-ringed river basin as a picturesque area ripe for development. Two very different perceptions, they create competition for acres and make it more challenging by the year for farmers here to buy or rent land they need to maintain their operations. Despite the challenges, this sixth-generation cotton farmer notes they’ve been lucky. VIP Farms, based in Thatcher and named for Matthew’s grandfather, Verle I. Palmer, was able to buy some crop ground last year. The owner had hoped for investor interest, but when that didn’t happen, the land came back up for sale. It was a rare opportunity for Palmer to add acres to his operation. OFF THE PEAK. “In this area, land is going for $2,000 to $10,000 per acre right now. There was a time, though, when owners were asking up to $20,000 an acre. We saw that trend down as less investor money came into the market,” he explains. The land least likely to draw the interest of developers is close to the Gila River. Palmer explains these areas are prone to flooding, making them too risky for anything other than agriculture. The Gila Valley is a tight-knit farming region consisting of some 30,000 acres. Elevation is about 3,000 feet, making it “on the bubble” as far as cotton production is concerned. Despite that, the Palmers grow both Pima and upland varieties, averaging 2.5 bales on the Pima and 3.5 bales on the upland. The farm encompasses about 4,800 acres of leased and owned ground....
Recent Comments