Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. Read our full disclaimer here.
Key Points
- Most farmland investing platforms require accreditation, which excludes most people from investing.
- Non-accredited investors can invest in farmland through platforms like Steward, which allows lenders to loan money to farmers.
- Farmland REITs also provide investment opportunities for non-accredited investors through stock market trading, with a minimum investment cost.
- Farmland REITs are susceptible to market price swings and tend to underperform private real estate equity investments.
- Despite the downsides, non-accredited investors can access farmland investment opportunities through these platforms.
Gaining exposure to farmland as an asset class is a challenging feat. While many farmland investing platforms have emerged, most require you to be an accredited investor.
If you don't know what an accredited investor is, odds are you aren't one.
Nonetheless, here are the requirements to be accredited:
- Your earned income exceeds $200,000 if single or $300,000 if married in both of the last two years
- $1 Million net worth, excluding your primary residence
- You hold a Series 7, 65, or 82 license
Meeting any of the above requirements deems you to be an accredited investor. However, the bottom line is that most people do not meet any of these requirements.
However, numerous ways exist to invest in farmland without being accredited.
Here's how!
Start Investing Today
| Platform | Minimum | Link | Accredited Only | Investments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $8,000+ | View Investments | Yes | US Farmland, Timberland, Vineyards |
 | $5,000+ | View Investments | Yes | Commercial Real Estate Properties |
 | $15,000+ | View Investments | Yes | US Farmland |
 | $10 | View Investments | No | Private Real Estate Deals |
1. Steward
The minimum investment on Steward is just $100.
With a debt investment, you don't own the land or the farm. Instead, you are the bank providing financing to farmers.
Many small farmers need help with securing financing via traditional means. Steward aims to solve this by allowing lenders to loan money to farmers. This exposes lenders to the farmland debt asset class and helps farmers grow or expand operations.
Debt investments tend to have lower returns than equity investments but also carry lower risk.
Click here to learn more about Steward!
2. Farmland REIT
Lastly, one more option for non-accredited investors looking to gain access to farmland is a real estate investment trust.
This is basically like real estate that trades on the stock market. However, the underlying real estate, in this case, would be farmland. The minimum cost to get started is the price of a single share. However, with fractional share brokerages, that minimum could be as little as $1.
Currently, there are two farmland REITs available to investors in the US:
While REITs may seem like a great option, they have a few downsides. First, since they trade on the same exchanges as stocks, they are susceptible to the same up-and-down price swings. Also, publicly-traded REITs tend to underperform private real estate equity investments for several reasons.
Nonetheless, they are still accessible for non-accredited investors to buy farmland!
