US pension fund manager TIAA-CREF, under pressure to put cash to work after having raised $2bn for TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture, agreed to purchase 12,528 ha of farmland in Florida.

A US pension fund investor that flies under the radar has continued its spending spree on quality agricultural land in WA with the purchase of two farms in Grass Patch for about $9 million.

Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute, argues that the time has come for a more holistic discussion of land deals that places transfer of land in both the developed and developing worlds along the same continuous spectrum.

Wall Street is looking for ways to invest in America’s heartland, and the government is ready to play matchmaker.

A small but growing group of sophisticated investors and bankers are combining crops and the soil they grow in into an asset class that ordinary investors can buy a piece of.

The $128-million deal that saw Canada Pension Plan acquire 46,500 hectares of Saskatchewan farmland was "wrong, both legally and morally," says Rick Swenson, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan.

According to data provider Preqin, there are 25 private equity funds targeting agriculture investments, with a total target of $1.1 billion.

For private equity houses, pension funds and family offices, the sprawling farms of sub Saharan Africa are the new land of plenty.

UK pensions funds and asset management companies potentially have up to £37 billion invested in ‘land grabs’ worldwide, according to a report published by Friends of the Earth.

One industry leader estimates that $10 billion in institutional capital is looking for access to US farmland, but that number could easily rise as investors seek to ride out uncertain financial times by placing their money in the perceived safety of agriculture.

This report identifies broad trends in farmland investing with the potential to affect countries in the Global North and Global South

This year Rabo Farm's first fund, with a size of € 315 million, will be fully subscribed, and a new fund, the Rabo Farm Europe Fund II, will be launched.

Australia’s major banks are funding large-scale illegal “land grabs” in the developing world and enabling illegal logging, child labour or other human rights abuses.

"You don't have to be a financial genius to sense an opportunity here."

There are countless examples of governments handing it over at bargain prices to foreign investors, ranging from hedge funds to biofuel producers.

A new survey of 223 asset managers, pension plans and pension consultants with combined assets of $13.4 trillion shows investor interest in farmland

Investment bank Macquarie Group is buying two farms in Australia's "wheatbelt" bringing its total holdings in Western Australia to 45,000 ha.

Foreign companies, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds are ready and willing to invest in the Australian farm sector, but many parts of the industry are still not investment-ready.

There is growing interest from international investors in the New Zealand agricultural sector, particularly from wealthy Europeans, boutique funds manager Mint Asset Management says.

Let us focus on the real issue that our legislators should be grasping: how do we keep farmers operating and attract farmers to own the land they work, and not become peasants on land rented from institutional investors, domestic or foreign.

Pension funds try to adopt a sustainability perspective when investing in farmland abroad, but there is not much consensus on what it means and how to measure it.

Storebrand, the largest private pension fund in the Nordic region, is divesting its shares in eleven of the twelve palm oil companies in which it is invested.

Transport costs have made the country’s agriculture industry uncompetitive. But new infrastructure projects should transform the opportunities some have seen in land values.

This year could see a surge in interest in farmland from investors with very little experience in this complicated asset class, reports Euromoney

A poorly performing bonds environment has led AP Pension to set up its own special agricultural investment fund and buy its first farm.

Palm oil is cheap because it’s produced by a global industry built on land grabbing, human rights abuses and environmental devastation.

Last year, CPPIB launched its agriculture investment program which is initially focusing on farmland opportunities in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is buying a portfolio of Saskatchewan farms, with the $128-million purchase of Assiniboia Farmland LP.

Interest in farming from a new class of institutional investors — including hedge, endowment, pension, private equity and sovereign wealth funds — has surged.

Global fund managers and some of the world's largest pension funds have bought more than $1.5 billion of agricultural land in Australia over the past three years.