Mormon Church Buys 46 Additional Farms Across Eight States for $289M, Becomes a Major Player in US Agriculture

U.S. Farm Earnings Drop 14.6 Percent In Third Quarter AFter A Decline In Output — (Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images) SALEM, SD - OCTOBER 02: Storm clouds pass over a soybean field on October 2, 2013 near Salem, South Dakota. According to the Commerce Department, farm earnings nationwide were down 14.6% during the second quarter of the year. Many Midwest states, which are rebounding from last year's severe drought, reported some of the biggest drops.

The Mormon Church has again expanded its real estate empire after it bought 46 farm plots across eight states for $289 million. The recent expansion further solidifies the church as a major player in US agriculture.

Farmland Reserve Inc., the Utah-based real estate arm of the Mormon Church, acquired farmland from a Denver-based firm. The plot spans 41,554 acres and spreads across six states, specifically Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

The farmland was sold for about $6,955 per acre. Farmland Partners Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust, is expected to earn $50 million from the plot sale. The transaction is expected to close on Oct. 16, according to DTN.

The Mormon Church's Role in US Agriculture

Farmland Reserve has investments in more than one million acres of farmland across the United States, making it a powerhouse in the agriculture industry. In Nebraska alone, the church's real estate investment company has stakes in 370,000 acres of farmland.

The company plans to lease the recently acquired farms to local farmers within the next years. This would allow them to maintain the agricultural productivity of the land, as reported by the New York Post, citing a statement from Farmland Reserve.

More than 100 tenant farmers are helping maintain Farmland Reserve's holdings across the US. Most (90%) of Farmland Reserve's plots grow row crops such as corn and soybeans. Its plots in California were turned into orchards.

Top Landowner

The church's real estate investment company has acquired over 300 farms since its IPO in 2014. That amounts to about $2 billion in land across the country. However, some estimates claim the church could have as high as $12 billion in agricultural assets in the US.

In Nebraska, it owns at least $134 million in agricultural terrain. This makes the Mormon Church potentially the state's top landowner, putting CNN founder Ted Turner in second place. It is also the largest private landowner in Florida, with $884 million in the state alone.