US

Farm advocates fear a loosening of the acreage that can be sold to foreign investors will drive up Wisconsin farmland prices.

Major asset managers, cowed by the cost, the risk and the controversy involved in investing in farmland, are joining forces to increase investment in the historically under-capitalised sector.

US Governor Scott Walker's budget proposes lifting a longtime prohibition on foreign ownership of large tracts of land in Wisconsin — a change that some legislators believe will allow other countries to gain too much control over some of the world's best farmland.

US-based Aslan Global Management, a leader in the "patient capital" movement, manages more than 12,000 hectares of farmland in Ukraine and Mozambique on long-term lease and just entered into a 99-year lease for 45,000 hectares in Tanzania.

Foreigners will not be allowed to lease land for a period exceeding 49 years and those who fail to put their land to use will face stiff penalties, which include repossession.

Agricon has negotiated terms to acquire 12,000 hectares plus several additional opportunities for the acquisition of over 50,000 hectares in Ghana.

Investors snap up California acreage, pushing prices to record highs, as global appetites for almonds and pistachios increase.

Retirement fund and financial services firm TIAA-CREF is helping to meet the growing institutional demand for sustainably managed farmland, which can deliver stable returns above inflation.

The National Family Farm Coalition is excited to announce the launch of its new Land Monitor site, an online hub for documenting on-the-ground stories of farmland grabs in the US.

Continued economic uncertainties are prompting a back-to-the-land movement among investors. And a favored choice of land is farmland.

Dubai-based AWGAL Investments is in advanced talks with farmers in Texas to invest in cattle farms to produce Halal-certified US beef for the GCC and MENA region.

Two hundred and seven families have turned to the US Government to help mediate the long-running dispute with the exclusive purchaser of the sugar, New York-based American Sugar Refining (ASR).