Ryan Nauman hosts Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk Podcast from Lake Tahoe and interviews David Chan, Head of Investor Relations at Homestead Capital, an institutional manager focused on U.S. farmland and agricultural investments. Chan explains Homestead’s origins, its farmland equity approach and newer credit strategy lending to farmers, and key themes shaping farmland: income durability, inflation linkage, land scarcity, active management potential, and a flight to quality driven by water security—highlighting California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and resulting value bifurcation. They break down farmland returns into income (lease or operating) and appreciation, distinguish permanent crops (e.g., almonds, pistachios, citrus, wine grapes) from row crops (e.g., corn, wheat, soy), and discuss ways to invest via direct ownership/funds, public vehicles, and credit. Chan addresses misconceptions, benchmarks (NCREIF Farmland Index), liquidity and complexity, current bear markets in permanent crops tied to pandemic-era oversupply, and geopolitical impacts such as fertilizer pricing and potential E15 ethanol policy boosting corn demand.
Learn more about Zephyr here.
Learn more about Homestead Capital here.
00:00 Welcome and Setup
01:13 Meet Homestead Capital
02:55 Personal Farming Roots
04:39 Farmland Themes Today
10:40 How Farmland Returns Work
12:43 Permanent vs Row Crops
15:31 Ways to Invest in Farmland
17:26 Finding Deals Now
19:40 Why Permanent Crops Slump
23:58 Common Farmland Myths
27:31 Risk and Benchmarks
30:32 Liquidity and Complexity
32:51 Geopolitics and Fertilizer
37:06 Wrap Up and Contact Info
