Gladstone land corp. acquires florida farmland

Gladstone Land Corporation recently announced that it has acquired approximately 401 acres of farmland in St. Lucie County, Florida, for $5.1 million. Upon acquisition, the Company entered into a lease agreement with a leading grower and marketer of fresh vegetables for a 7-year lease that provides for annual rent escalations and two, 7-year extension options.

"We are privileged to make our first acquisition in Southeast Florida with a highly-regarded vegetable grower as our tenant-partner," said Bill Frisbie, the Company's Managing Director for the Eastern United States. "We now own 48 farms across the U.S., and we seek to continue building and diversifying our high-value agricultural portfolio. This property is farmed for bell peppers and green beans."

"We like being real estate partners with farmers, and we seek to buy farms that grow fresh fruits and vegetables that are healthy for people to eat," said David Gladstone, President and CEO of Gladstone Land. "We have built our farmland portfolio based on the idea that the produce section of the grocery store is a good place to base our business because returns on fruits, vegetables and nuts have been growing at a stronger pace than other areas of the food sector, and we believe that trend will continue."