by sdaylevesque

From Soil to Strategy: The Questions Guiding Thoughtful Farmland Investment

Farmland sits at the heart of our food system – and the way it’s owned, managed, and financed has profound ripple effects on communities, ecosystems, and the future of food itself. As more investors turn their attention to agriculture, the question isn’t simply whether to invest in farmland, but how. The choices investors make today can either reinforce extractive systems or help regenerate the landscapes and livelihoods that sustain us all.

Making informed investment decisions is critical to the positive transformation of farmland. The due diligence process offers more than a financial assessment – it’s an opportunity to understand how a farmland investment aligns with ecological stewardship, farmer wellbeing, human health and long-term resilience. Asking the right questions can illuminate whether an investment will create lasting value, or simply short-term returns.

Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT, PBC knows this well. The company – founded in 2007 – has been investing in organic, regenerative farmland on behalf of investors for almost 20 years and during that time has built a portfolio of more than 110 farmland investments, impacting over 35,000 acres across 19 states. The team at Iroquois Valley has deep experience executing due diligence on farmland investments to ensure the properties’ purchase or financing are economically successful and are, just as importantly, impactful. The company is also experienced in having diligence done on itself by investors seeking to invest in a portfolio of farmland. This has taught the team about the investor’s process of evaluating farmland investment companies or funds, and about their key financial and farm management concerns, both of which must be vetted before allocating capital. The right series of questions is key to identifying aligned capital partners for farmland investing and building investment relationships that cultivate value and regeneration.

What’s in a Question?

Asking the right questions is one of the most powerful tools an investor has. For those considering an investment in a portfolio of farmland, questions are more than a formality – they’re the means of uncovering the story beneath the numbers. With thoughtful inquiries, a prospective investor can begin to understand both the opportunities and the vulnerabilities that define farmland as an asset class: the potential for steady, long-term value creation alongside the environmental, social, and operational risks that can accompany it.

Well-defined questions help translate broad ideals – like stewardship, impact, and resilience – into tangible insights as to how a business actually operates. They reveal whether the company’s actions align with its stated values and whether its strategy can deliver on both financial and impactful outcomes over time.

In Iroquois Valley’s experience, this process centers on several key areas: the people and principles guiding the management team; the condition and stewardship of the land itself; the range of possible financial outcomes; the nature and measurement of impact; and the approach to managing risk and resilience. Together, these questions form a framework for due diligence that goes beyond compliance – one that helps investors ensure their capital supports the kind of agriculture they want to see flourish.

Here’s a closer look at this framework.

Management Company or Firm:

An investor’s understanding of the company or fund behind a farmland investment is just as important as understanding the land itself. The management company sets the tone for how decisions are made, how capital is allocated, and how values are put into practice. The team’s experience, philosophy, process and business model all shape the outcomes an investor can expect – financially, operationally, and in terms of impact.

Questions in this area help illuminate the foundation of the enterprise: 

  • How is your fund/company structured?
  • How long has your company been in business?
  • How many people are on your team?  
  • Who leads your team and each business function?
  • Is your company overseen by a board or advisory committee?
  • What expertise do your team members have?
  • Do any of your team members have employment contracts?
  • What has turnover on your team looked like in the past 3 years?

While these questions may apply to nearly any type of business, they are especially critical in farmland investing, where trust, skill and transparency matter deeply due to the long-term investment horizon. A strong management team with clear principles and relevant experience is often the difference between an investment that merely owns farmland and one that actively contributes to its regeneration and profitability.

Farmland Investments: 

Understanding the relationship between a farmland investment firm and the farmers who steward the land is central to effective due diligence. Examining the various types of production across the portfolio, the financial products available to farmers, and the expectations and support provided by the investment company reveals far more than operational details – it illuminates the underlying values, incentives, and resilience of the investment model itself. This line of questioning helps investors assess not only financial performance and risk, but also the long-term viability of the farming enterprises and the integrity of the regenerative outcomes the investment aims to achieve. Here are some key questions to ask:

  • What is your farmland investment philosophy?
  • Do you require organic certification or regenerative practices?
  • How many acres does your fund/company own/manage?
  • Where is your farmland located? 
  • Does your portfolio focus on particular crops or products?
  • How do you identify farmers?
  • How do you find land?
  • Is the demand for your farmers’ product(s) growing?
  • How many investments have you made?
  • How do you determine if the purchase price of your properties is reasonable?
  • Do you offer leases, mortgages or operating lines of credit to farmers?
  • What are the terms of your leases? Mortgages and LOCs?
  • Who manages farmer intake and diligence?
  • Who is responsible for underwriting the land purchase/financing?
  • Who serves on the investment committee and is therefore responsible for approving / denying a proposed transaction?
  • Who manages the farm or farmland operations?
  • What is the geographic diversification within the portfolio?
  • What type of reporting do you require from your farmers?
  • What is a typical deal size?
  • Can you describe several of your past transactions?
Impact: 

Questions around impact help illuminate what kind of change a company or management team is working to achieve on the land and how they define and measure success. For investors seeking measurable environmental and social outcomes in addition to financial returns, this line of inquiry is critical. Iroquois Valley has been assessing impact for 10 years and has developed a comprehensive framework built around six pillars: Pesticides & Herbicides, Farmer Economics, Soil Health & Preservation, Carbon Capture, Biodiversity, and Water. Some farmland investment firms are still in the early stages of developing their impact measurement systems – or have not yet established them. In these cases, investors may need to weigh the strength of a well-established framework against the promise of a company with clear regenerative intent but an evolving approach to tracking results. In either case, here are some key questions to ask:  

  • What impact are you making?
  • How do you measure impact?  
  • Do you require farmers to participate in measuring impact?
  • Are farmers rewarded for improving the environment, biodiversity, and nutrient density of their crops?
  • Do you work with third parties to determine the amount of impact your farmers make?
  • Is any person on the team compensated based on the impact that your farmers make?
Investment Opportunities and Terms: 

This section of questions describes the products or vehicles through which investors can participate, along with the requirements to make an investment. It also addresses key structural considerations such as fees, lock-ups, and expected returns. These questions are essential to understanding not only how capital flows into the investment, but also how it is managed, aligned, and rewarded. Clarity on structure and terms helps investors assess liquidity, risk tolerance, and alignment between their financial objectives and the firm’s strategy – ensuring that both impact and return expectations are grounded in a realistic, transparent foundation.

  • What investment vehicles are available?
  • How do investors invest in your company /fund?
  • What is the minimum / maximum investment?
  • Do you accept non-accredited investors?
  • What fees do you charge for investing?
  • What reports and/or updates do you provide investors?
  • Are you required to file reports/updates with any regulatory information?
  • What are the liquidity options for investors?
  • What happens to the land/farmers when investors are paid out?
  • What financial return should I expect?
  • What tax form do you provide investors?
Risk Management: 

Risk management is one of the most important factors in the due diligence process because it focuses on how protected your investment is when the farmland investment company or firm is faced with adverse circumstances. All investments involve some risk, but your goal is to minimize foreseeable risks. These questions can help create more clarity in what risks are already managed for and which ones may be a surprise:

  • What types of insurance do you carry to protect the business?
  • Are farmers required to get crop insurance?
  • How do you evaluate climate risk, and how is it managed across the entire portfolio (e.g., drought, temperature change, water access)?
  • Is your company or are any of your farmers involved in current litigation?
  • Have you had any cyber events?
  • Do you require background checks on all your employees?  
  • Are your financial statements audited? If so, who is your auditor?
  • Do you have a relationship with outside counsel who has expertise in farmland management?
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Rigorous Questions and Regenerative Futures

In a landscape where farmland is both a financial asset and foundational to our food systems, asking the right questions is one of the most powerful tools an investor has. Diligence that looks beyond the numbers to examine relationships, impact, and intent reveals not just how an investment performs, but what kind of future it helps build. By approaching farmland investments with curiosity and rigor, investors can direct capital in ways that strengthen both portfolios and the resilience of the land and communities that sustain us.

Sarah Day Levesque is Managing Director at RFSI & Editor of RFSI News. She can be reached here.