Institutional buyers snapping up US farmland

[WASHINGTON] Institutional investors are buying up US farmland at a rapid rate, and their influence is starting to shift the types of crops grown and the way the land is managed.

There is an estimated US$10 billion in institutional capital looking to acquire US farmland, and over the next 20 years, as the current generation of farmers retires, an estimated 400 million acres (162 million hectares) will change hands, according to the report issued on Tuesday by The Oakland Institute, a Calfornia-based think-tank with a focus on agriculture.

"Driven by everything from rising food prices to growing demand for biofuel, the financial sector is taking an interest in farmland as never before," said the report, which analysed property records and other county and local property data, and other public records.