Following in the steps of Gates and Bezos, a private equity group of athletes is buying farmland. Led by Iowa native, Joe Burrow, this farmland grab is starting with a 104-acre purchase in the corn belt economy. Maybe that Superbowl LVI hat was more than a viral fashion statement after all!
Yahoo! reports that the sports stars are looking for a diverse set of agricultural assets that could include watermelon farms in Oregon as well as other farms in Iowa as farmland is up 17% YoY.
Here is the list of some of the dozens of athletes joining Burrow:
Cincinati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard
Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman
New York Islander left wing Anders Lee
Dallas Mavericks' point guard Kemba Walker
Milwaukee Bucs' small forward Khris Middleton
Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz
I love this move as I have studied the cash crop business, farmland (had to learn hectare to acre conversion rates) and supply chains both domestically and internationally. I thought it was hilarious when China said their wheat stockpiles were from bumper crops when in reality, they were importing a lot of their stash. They knew a war in the breadbasket of the world was coming and that the biggest threat to communism is food. China's Wheat Imports Hit Highest in Two Decades. People get mad when they are hungry.
While it's not the sexiest investment for a celebrity, who doesn't love a good sunset and the agriculture game is where it's at in current world political climate...here is a recent article from The New York Times: How Russia’s War on Ukraine Is Worsening Global Starvation.
Good luck Joe and as they say "Make hay while the sun shines!" I am dying to play Pit right now as I think about this...just don't pass me any bears.
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