This week, agricultural investment firm Farmland LP announced a new partnership with Stemilt Growers to acquire 950 acres of apple and cherry orchards in the Columbia Basin. 

Farmland LP and Stemilt saw an opportunity to purchase the Grant County, Washington, orchards, which are “modern varieties with good infrastructure,” said Craig Wichner, co-founder of Farmland LP. Stemilt will farm and market the fruit. 

About one-third of the acres are already organic, another third is in transition, and the final third will eventually be transitioned as well, according to a news release from Farmland LP. 

Wichner said that converting conventional cropland to certified organic land lies at the core of the firm’s investment strategy. The California-based firm has nearly 20,000 acres across the West Coast, comprising a wide range of crops. 

“One of the key things we’ve shown is by converting from conventional to organic, we increase the profits for the farmers as well as the rents,” he said. “There’s really strong consumer demand for certified organic food, and yet it takes three years to convert. It’s complicated and expensive.”

Farmland LP’s experience and capital ease the challenge of transitioning to organic, he said. Partnering with an experienced organic grower such as Stemilt was a natural fit.

“They’ve been doing organics and sustainable practices since 1989,” Wichner said. “Their organization and our organization are very aligned; it’s not only focused on organic, it’s also focusing on high quality.” •