Generational Transfer on an Organic Dairy Farm

Stories from the North: Beyercrest Farms

W inona County, Minnesota

Our 2017 Annual Meeting featured presentations from four of our farmers. The farmers who spoke are from the Northern reaches of the country, representing Montana, Minnesota, and Vermont. We are excited to share the videos from those presentations over the course of Fall as part of a monthly harvest video series. These 30 minute presentations offer a deep dive into the featured operations and are followed by a Q&A session with the investors and guests who attended the meeting.

Our third release features Minnesota's Beyercrest Farms. Check back with us in December for the last installment.

Watch Beyercrest Farm's presentation from our Annual Meeting

Iroquois Valley Farms' provided financing for the Beyers, a 5th & 6th gen eration farm family based in Winona County, MN. When Rory came back to the farm after college, he led the transition from the family's conventional dairy to organic, recognizing that their conventional model was not working - financially and ecologically.

Since their transition, the Beyers have been producing for Organic Valley. Their Holstein dairy herd grazes primarily on pasture. The Beyers also grow organic grains for feed during winter. Financing creates a direct path to ownership for the next generation at Beyercrest Farms, Rory.

What's new with Beyercrest Farms?

The harvest for 2017 is nearly complete at Beyercrest Farms. Unseasonably warm fall weather has extended harvesting and allowed the cows to graze outside. For the first time since their transition to organic, the Beyers planted soybeans, which proved to be a success coming in at 50 bushels an acre. This year, they also added calcium to their nutrient mix and saw impressive results on their corn. Their corn had their highest yield yet, at 180-190 bushels an acre. Rory plans to plant more soybeans next year and use calcium in the nutrient mix for all crops.

Investment Offerings Closing Soon

Invest today! A purchase of Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT equity shares or short-term notes allows us to offer land access to organic farmers nationwide and add to our diversified portfolio of organic farmland. Read more about how we're enabling the next generation of farmers and investors to do things differently in Real Leaders magazine.

To date, Iroquois Valley Farms has funded over $40 million in farmland access to organic farmers. This was our biggest year - we funded over $13 million in 2017 alone. Iroquois Valley Farms has supported organic family farmers for ten years; our farmers have transitioned to or maintained organic certification on over 8,500 acres of land.

Our current subscription will be ending around year's end, so contact Alex at invest@iroquoisvalleyfarms.com to learn more about how to offer land access to organic farmers through your impact investment.

Connecting farm families, communities, and investors since 2007.

As a corporate guideline, we do not look for specific farmland to purchase or finance. We develop relationships with farmers, mostly young and organic, who want to grow their farm business. We move forward if we have a ready, willing and able farmer in hand.

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