After five consecutive years of U.S. farmland increasing in value, a global investment firm is betting on the nation’s agricultural properties with a new REIT.
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Nuveen wants to raise $3B in capital as part of a new private farmland REIT that will target crop-producing agricultural properties leased in the U.S., CoStar reported. The firm said that new farming technology, the expected growth in global demand for food and scarcity of undeveloped farmland will boost land values, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nuveen already has $11.2B worth of farmland assets across more than 2M acres under management, making it one of the largest investors in agricultural properties in the world. The company declined a request for comment from Bisnow.
Farmland has long been a big draw for investors due to strong returns, low volatility and an ability to act as an inflation hedge. Average cropland value in the U.S. rose to $5,830 per acre in 2025, which represents nearly a 5% increase over last year and nearly a 44% increase over 2020's average, according to the Land Values 2025 Summary Report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The Nuveen Farmland REIT will target row crop farms that produce corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat. The flexible planting cycles of those annual crops offer stability, Nuveen said in its SEC filing. Permanent crops like avocados, citrus, tree nuts and wine grapes will be another focus.
The REIT will also target water systems and storage facilities. Once fundraising closes, Nuveen intends to acquire the REIT’s first farmland portfolio from a subsidiary of its parent company, the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.
The REIT was structured by Nuveen as a nonlisted offering, meaning shares will be traded monthly at prices based on the net asset value.
Farmland Partners and Gladstone Land are the only current publicly traded farmland REITs in the U.S. Farmland Partners Executive Chairman Paul Pittman told Bisnow last year that its REIT had distributed an average of 7% dividends over the prior two years.
UPDATE, SEPT. 24, 10:15 A.M. CT: This article has been updated to reflect Nuveen declining to comment.
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