As
more
people
are
starting
to
realize
—
and
as

Indigenous
Peoples
have
understood
for
millennia
—
how
we
treat
the

land
affects
everything
from

food
and
water
security
to

carbon
sequestration
and

climate
change.

Many
farms
in
the
United
States
are
multigenerational
family
operations,
and,
as
they
are
passed
down,
some
members
of
the
next
generation
are
exploring
the
transition
to
agricultural
practices
that
are
better
for
the
planet
and
healthier
for
our

food
system.

Iroquois
Valley
Farmland
REIT
is
an
investment
company
that
focuses
on
helping
farmers
transition
to
organic,

regenerative
agriculture.
Since
the
company
began
17
years
ago,
it
has
partnered
with
more
than
70
farmers.
It
has
a
total
of
$126
million
invested
in
36,000
acres
of

farmland
on
115
farms
across
20
states.

Iroquois
Valley
provides
low-interest,
long-term
financing
to
farmers
with
the
goal
of
building
a
food
system
that
is
more
sustainable
by
preserving
farmland
to
be
used
for
organic
production.

Iroquois
Valley’s
first
investment
of
2025
was
with
fifth-generation
farmer
Rex
Wettstein.
Wettstein
started
partnering
with
the
company
in
2019,
when
he
decided
to
expand
his
family’s
operations
by
adding
a
200-acre
farm
in
Woodford
County,
Illinois,
a
press
release
from
Iroquois
Valley
said.

“We
very
much
view
the
relationship
with
our
farmers
as
one
of
a
long-term
partnership.
Our
leases
are
set
up
and
structured…
to
be
six
years
in
duration
initially,
and
they
can
be
evergreen
thereafter,”
Chris
Zuehlsdorff,
CEO
of
Iroquois
Valley,
told
EcoWatch.
“The
main
product
that
we
offer
farmers
is
what
we
call
a
purchase
lease.
So
a
farmer
like
Rex,
for
example,
will
identify
a
200-acre
farm
that
is
down
the
road
or
that
he
would
like
to
add
to
his
portfolio
and
his
business
plan.
And
we’ll
buy
that
farm
and
lease
it
back
to
the
farmer
over
a
six-year
term.
So
that
gets
them
through
the
organic
certification.
After
year
six,
[the
leases]
auto-renew
for
every
two
years.
We
also
offer
the
farmer
an
opportunity
to
purchase
the
farm
from
us
at
the
end
of
year
six,
should
they
want
to.”

Last
year,
Iroquois
Valley
distributed
$37
million
from
investors
to
18
farmers.

“Rex
is
a
good
example
of
a
farmer
in
our
portfolio.
We
first
did
a
purchase
of
a
farm
for
him
and
his
family
back
in
2020,
and
he
successfully
transitioned
that
farm…
to
certified
organic
production,”
Zuehlsdorff
told
EcoWatch.
“He’s
looking
to
grow
his
operation
—
his
acreage
portfolio,
if
you
will
—
and
so
he
identified
this
opportunity
late
last
year
to
purchase
another
farm,
and
he
brought
that
opportunity
to
us.”

Organic
wheat,
soy
and
corn
will
be
grown
on
Wettstein’s
farm,
but
it
will
also
become
the
first
Iroquois
Valley
partner
to
invest
in

renewable
energy.

“For
us,
it
is
the
first
investment
in
our
portfolio
that
has

wind
turbines
on
it.
It
has
two
operating
wind
turbines
and
an
existing
renewable
energy
lease
attached
to
that
farm,”
Zuehlsdorff
said.
“We’re
excited
that
we
get
to
partner,
again,
to
help
Rex
grow
his
farm
business.
And
we’re
adding
some
additional
diversification
and
resilience
to
our
portfolio
as
well
through
a
wind
turbine
lease.
We
are
also
keen
on
exploring
opportunities
around
community

solar
in
our
portfolio
as
well,
to
the
extent
the
opportunities
are
there
and
there
are
organizations
that
we
can
partner
with.”

Everything
Wettstein
farms
is
organic,
and
when
he
acquires
new
land,
he
transitions
that
into
organic.
Wettstein
said
organic
farming
not
only
makes
for
better

soil
health,
but
has
economic
advantages
too.

“I’ve
done
organic
farming
all
my
life.
But
then
any
new
farms
that
we
get,
we
do
transition
them
to
organic,”
Wettstein
said
in
a
recent
interview.
“There’s
definitely
more
of
a
return
on
the
organic
side.
And
if
you’re
talking
to
someone
who
maybe
is
a
conventional
farmer,
and
they
ask
you,
‘What
do
you
see
as
the
benefits
of
organic
over
conventional?’
we
feel
like
it’s
healthier
for
the
soil,
for
us
and
everything.
We’re
obviously
smaller
farmers,
and
it
gives
more
opportunity
for
us.
I
mean,
if
it
wasn’t
for
organic,
I
probably
couldn’t
farm.”

Wettstein
said
there
are
probably
at
least
25
to
30
organic
farms
in
the
area
around
his
farm
in
Eureka,
Illinois,
and
the
number
is
growing.

“Expanding
Rex’s
operations
is
not
just
about
growing
more
organic
crops,
but
also
about
building
a
thriving
organic
hub
here
in
Illinois,”
said
Andy
Ambriole,
Iroquois
Valley’s
managing
director
of
farmland
investments,
in
the
press
release.
“By
building
resilient,
organic
communities
it
creates
a
model
for
sustainable,
profitable
farming
that
benefits
the
community,
the
environment
and
future
generations.”

Co-founded
by
Dr.
Stephen
Rivard,
a
former
emergency
medicine
doctor,
and
Dave
Miller,
a
former
commercial
real
estate
banker,
the
origin
story
of
Iroquois
Valley
is
an
illustration
of
the
importance
of
organic
farming
for
human
health
and
the
well-being
of
the
planet.

Rivard
and
Miller
“grew
up
in
the
same
small
town,
Kankakee,
Illinois,
farm
country
in
central
Illinois.
And
after
30-plus
year
careers…
came
together
and
were
just
reflecting
on
some
comments
Doc
was
making
about
the
decline
in
health
metrics
of
his
patient
population
—
this
was
in
2007,
2008
—
whether
it’s
the
increasing
rates
of
diabetes,
heart
disease,
cancer,
higher
levels
of
autism
among
children.
But
that
was
what
inspired
them
to
begin
to
explore
solutions,”
Zuehlsdorff
told
EcoWatch.
“And
the
one
solution
that
they
came
up
with
was
to
buy
a
farm
in
Iroquois
County,
Illinois
—
hence
the
name,
Iroquois
Valley
—
and
convert
that
farm
to
organic,
to
get
chemicals
out
of
the
food
system,
to
just
try
to
make
a
small
impact
on
outcomes
in
the
environment.”

That
was
the
first
farm
Iroquois
Valley
purchased,
but
now
their
model
is
one
of
partnership
with
farmers.

“Harold
Wilkins
would
have
been
the
first
farmer
in
our
portfolio
in
Iroquois
County,
Illinois,
that
they
worked
with
to
transition…
to
certified
organic
production.
And
then
maybe
18
months
later,
they
bought
another
farm
in
the
same
area.
And
by
2012,
they
[had]
created
a
small
LLC,”
Zuehlsdorff
explained.
“[They]
continued
raising
capital
and
buying
and
converting
farmland
to
organic.
And
then
in
2016,
they
converted
the
fund
to
the
structure
that
it
is
today,
which
is
a
real
estate
investment
trust
and
a
public
benefit
corporation…
And
what
I
really
like
is
we
really
democratize
access
for
individuals
and
for
people
to
own
a
diversified
portfolio
of
organic
farmland.”

[embedded content]

In
2000,
the
amount
of
certified
organic
land
being
used
for
agriculture
or

livestock
in
the
United
States
was
1.8
million
acres,
according
to
the

U.S
Department
of
Agriculture.
But
by
2021,
that
number
had
increased
to
4.9
million
acres.

“We
continue
to
see
a
growing
need
for
more
organic,
regenerative
farming
in
America,”
Zuehlsdorff
said
in
the
press
release.
“Iroquois
Valley
receives
support
from
over
925
accredited
and
non-accredited
individuals
and
institutional
investors,
and
investments
range
from
$5,000
to
over
$9
million.
Patient
investor
capital
is
the
cornerstone
of
our
long-term
support
for
organic,
regenerative
farmers,
but
we
need
more
individuals
and
institutional
investors
who
want
to
join
our
mission.”

Zuehlsdorff
shared
some
of
his
thoughts
about
the
importance
of
organic
farming
for
healthy
food
and

drinking
water.

“Something
like
80%
of
all

pesticides
are
applied
to
five
crops
—
corn,
soybeans,
wheat,
potatoes
and
cotton,
I
think.
And
so
much
of
that
gets
funneled
right
down
the
Mississippi
River
and
right
into
the
watersheds
in
a
number
of
these
farming
communities
and
beyond,”
Zuehlsdorff
told
EcoWatch.
“Certified
organic
production
removes
the
synthetic
chemicals,
pesticides,

fertilizers
from
the
soil
and
from
the
downstream
negative
impacts
that
comes
with
that.”

Zuehlsdorff
said
individuals
can
support
organic
farming
by
buying
produce
and
other
products
through
community
supported
agriculture
programs
and
local
cooperatives.
They
can
also
cultivate
awareness
by
growing
their
own
food.

“I
think
having
a

backyard
garden
or
a
small
garden
plot
where
you’re
getting
your
hands
dirty
and
you
understand
how
hard
it
is
to
grow
and
how
hard
farming
can
be
and
various
challenges
that
come
with
it
is
very
tangible
and
creates
awareness.
And
then,
ultimately,
it’s
about
creating
demand
for
organic
produce,
organic
grown
crops,”
Zuehlsdorff
said.
“So
the
more
awareness
we
can
create
amongst
the
consumer
in
the
buying
community
and
the
more
demand
that’s
out
there,
the
supply
side
is
going
to
respond.
And
so
that’s
a
very
important
piece
to
the
puzzle,
I
think,
is
to
feel
more
connected
to
the
food
[we]
eat
and
where
it’s
grown
and
how
it’s
grown.”

Zuehlsdorff
said
he
sees
organic
farming
continuing
to
expand
for
the
health
of
water,
soil,
humans
and

wildlife.

“We
started
farming
organically
60,
70
years
ago,
before
we
started
putting
chemicals
on
fields
en
masse.
And
I
think
we
absolutely
have
to
continue
to
transition
more
acres
from
conventional
to
organic
and
regenerative
practices,”
Zuehlsdorff
told
EcoWatch.
“For
us,
organic
certification
is
the
baseline,
and
then
all
of
the
regenerative
practices
that
farmers
can
do
on
top
of
that
—
cover
crops
and
crop
rotations
and
integrating
livestock,
buffer
strips
for
biodiversity
—
whatever
that
may
be,
is
added
on
top
of
that
core
organic
certification,
which
is
our
baseline.
Our
vision
is
to
transform
agriculture
through
organic
land
stewardship,
and
we
feel
like
we
have
one
generation
to
do
that.
That’s
our
goal.
We’re
going
to
continue
to
try
to
get
as
many
acres
as
we
can
transition,
and
we’ll
work
with
any
and
all
partners
to
achieve
that
vision.”