Goldcrest Farm Trust

What Goldcrest Farm Trust does

Goldcrest Farm Trust Advisors (GFTA) is a New York–based farmland investment management company that manages Goldcrest Farm Trust REIT (GFTR), a privately held U.S. farmland REIT with over $800 million in long-term committed capital from institutional pension fund and sovereign wealth fund investors. The firm is led by Chairman Steven Feldman (formerly Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners) and President & COO Edward Hargroves (formerly SAC Capital and Duquesne Capital), and traces its lineage to AgCoA — the largest private U.S. farmland REIT that the team co-founded in 2007 and sold to CPPIB in 2013. GFTA has raised two consecutive $300M+ investment vehicles (GFTR I in 2015 and GFTR II in September 2019) and has acquired and improved more than 95,000 acres of high-quality row crop farmland across six states (Idaho, Oregon, Arkansas, Mississippi, Colorado, Arizona).

The platform operates a hybrid value chain: capital is sourced directly from institutional investors, farmland is acquired through broker networks and off-market channels with all-cash 30-day closings and minimum transaction size of $3 million, and acquired properties are leased to progressive farming tenants under medium- to long-term contracts covering 20+ crop types. The flagship 25,000-acre Goldcrest Farms property in southwest Arkansas — nearly twice the size of Manhattan — has been redeployed with Valley Irrigation center pivots, LESA/LEPA systems, soil moisture monitors, and the Valley 365 smart farm platform under a partnership with Valmont Industries. Revenue is generated through REIT management fees on AUM, transaction-related fees, farmland appreciation, and indirect lease income flowing through the trust structure to LPs.

Go-to-market is enterprise field sales: GFTA pursues pension funds and sovereign wealth funds for capital commitments while simultaneously deploying regional acquisition teams across the U.S. to source and close farmland transactions. The firm complements this with limited but targeted presence at industry events (Global AgInvesting, Wealthion Conference), media placements (Yahoo Finance, TD Ameritrade Network), and organic social channels (LinkedIn, Twitter/X) for thought leadership rather than lead generation.

Name

Goldcrest Farm Trust

Legal name

Goldcrest Farm Trust Advisors, LLC

Website

https://goldcrestft.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Goldcrest Farm Trust Advisors is a New York–based farmland investment manager that runs Goldcrest Farm Trust REIT, a privately held U.S. farmland REIT with over $800M in committed institutional capital across two vehicles and 95,000+ acres in six states, serving pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, farm sellers, and progressive farming tenants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Farmland Investment Management

NAICS

Farm Management Services (115116), Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural Resources — Farmland & Agriculture (FSAAAKAI)

Keywords

• Farmland investment management
• Farmland REIT
• Agricultural real estate
• Farmland acquisition
• Farmland leasing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. REIT Management Fees: Goldcrest Farm Trust Advisors (GFTA) earns management fees from managing the Goldcrest Farm Trust REIT (GFTR), which has over $800mm in long-term capital from institutional investors including pension funds.
2. Farmland Lease Income: GFTR generates recurring income through leasing farmland to progressive farming tenants. The REIT owns high-quality farmland across the US, with medium to long-term leases structured with operators farming over 20 different crops.
3. Farmland Appreciation: GFTA generates returns through appreciation of acquired farmland assets, having closed approximately $1 billion of farmland transactions since 2007.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Goldcrest Farm Trust Advisors (GFTA) manages the Goldcrest Farm Trust REIT (GFTR), a privately held farmland real estate investment trust with over $800 million in long-term capital. The firm acquires high-quality irrigated row crop farmland across multiple U.S. states, leases it to progressive farming tenants, and provides farm sale-leaseback and transaction structuring services.

Product overview

Goldcrest Farm Trust operates as a unified platform consisting of Goldcrest Farm Trust Advisors (GFTA), the investment management entity, and the Goldcrest Farm Trust REIT (GFTR), a privately held farmland REIT with over $800mm in capital. The REIT has two investment vehicles: GFTR I (launched 2015) and GFTR II (launched 2019). GFTA manages Goldcrest Farms, a 25,000-acre flagship property in Arkansas with advanced irrigation infrastructure. Farm Services provides transaction structuring and leasing solutions to complement the investment platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Goldcrest Farm Trust REIT I (GFTR I) First farmland REIT investment vehicle, closed with over $300 million in commitments from institutional pension funds, used to acquire and manage high-quality row crop farmland across the United States.
• Goldcrest Farm Trust REIT II (GFTR II) Second farmland REIT investment vehicle, closed with over $300 million in committed capital from institutional investors for acquiring high-quality U.S. farmland.
• Farm Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 25-50% reduction in energy and maintenance costs through Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Valley Irrigation (Valmont Industries)coreTechnology or Integration · 7 February 2023Valley Irrigation partnered with Goldcrest Farm Trust Advisors to transform neglected dryland into productive, sustainable farmland. The partnership involved installing 56 Valley center pivots with LESA/LEPA systems, 7 turbine pumps capable of 140,000 gallons per minute, 425,000 feet of underground pipeline, and integrating soil moisture monitors and Valley 365 smart platform. The irrigation infrastructure enables efficient water application while reducing evaporation and pumping costs for tenant operators.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gladstone Land Corporation: Publicly traded farmland REIT that acquires and leases high-quality farmland to farmers across the US. Directly comparable in farmland acquisition and lease strategy but differs in public market access and broader crop/geographic diversification.
• Hancock Natural Resource Group (Manulife): Manages institutional timberland and farmland portfolios on behalf of pension funds and insurance companies. Directly comparable to Goldcrest Farm Trust's strategy of acquiring, improving, and leasing agricultural real estate for institutional investors.
• Farmland Partners Inc. Publicly traded farmland REIT with one of the largest portfolios of US farmland, leasing to farmers across multiple states. Closely comparable model to Goldcrest Farm Trust REIT, differing primarily in public listing, broader geographic reach, and smaller average deal size.
• Cottonwood Ag Management: Subsidiary of Cascade Investment (Bill Gates) that acquired AgCoA from CPPIB in 2017. Directly comparable as a large-scale institutional farmland owner/manager with a similar row crop focus and US footprint.

Emerging players

• AcreTrader: Technology-enabled farmland investing platform offering fractional ownership to individual and institutional investors. Comparable to Goldcrest in core farmland investing focus but differentiated by digital platform model and retail investor accessibility.
• Heitman (Real Estate): Real estate investment manager with growing agricultural real estate exposure alongside traditional real estate strategies. Comparable to Goldcrest in serving institutional investors seeking real asset exposure, with partial overlap in farmland strategy.
• Blue Sky Capital Management: Niche institutional farmland and agriculture investment manager focused on sustainable and responsible farmland investments. Comparable to Goldcrest in institutional farmland strategy but typically smaller deal sizes and emerging in scale.

Broad incumbents

• UBS Farmland Investors (UBS Asset Management): Institutional farmland investment platform managing timberland and farmland on behalf of global investors. Directly comparable strategy as an institutional farmland manager, operating as part of UBS's broad global asset management business.
• Prudential Agricultural Investments: PGIM's farmland investment arm managing a multi-billion dollar portfolio of US row crop and permanent crop farmland. Directly comparable business model of leasing institutional farmland to operators, operating as part of a much larger incumbent asset manager.
• TIAA (Nuveen) Agriculture Group: One of the world's largest institutional farmland investors with billions in AUM under management. Directly comparable to Goldcrest as a scaled farmland investment manager serving pension fund and institutional clients, but operates as a broad incumbent within a much larger asset management platform.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/goldcrestft
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/goldcrest-farm-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Goldcrest Farm Trust