Farmland ETF: Why None Owns Land and the Real Options

No US-listed farmland ETF owns crop acreage directly among the funds we reviewed on 5 November 2026. The closest listed options are two farmland REITs, Farmland Partners (FPI) and Gladstone Land (LAND). Agriculture ETFs such as MOO and VEGI hold company shares, led by names like Deere, and not land.

This page lists each option with what it owns, dated facts such as cost or size, and how some have behaved. It also has charts of USDA land values and a calculator that sets direct land against a listed fund using your own numbers. It is general information, not investment advice. Read each fund’s prospectus and speak to a licensed adviser before you buy.

Is there a farmland ETF?

People who search for a farmland ETF usually want one thing: a fund they can buy through a broker that gives them a claim on US crop and pasture land. We know of no such ETF on a US exchange. What exists falls into four groups, and they behave very differently.

• Listed farmland REITs. These companies own farms and lease them to operators. FPI and LAND are the two we cover here.
• Agriculture equity ETFs. These hold shares in equipment, fertilizer, seed and food companies. MOO, VEGI, FTAG and KROP sit here.
• Agricultural commodity funds. These hold futures on crops and livestock. DBA is one example.
• Private and non-traded farmland funds. These can own land directly, but you cannot sell them on an exchange the way you sell an ETF.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission says a publicly traded REIT can be bought through a broker, while a non-traded REIT generally cannot be sold readily on the open market. That difference matters as much as the asset itself. A fund that owns land directly and also promises daily trading would have to sell or price land quickly, and farmland does not change hands quickly.

Why a land-owning ETF is hard to build

An ETF needs holdings that can be priced every trading day. Listed shares and futures meet that need. A farm is priced by an appraisal or a sale, and sales are infrequent. The NCREIF farmland index, for example, relies on regular appraisals that give a value each quarter. That is one practical reason a listed REIT, which trades as a company share, is the common route.

Farmland ETF list: the main options compared

The table shows what each ticker owns. Cost and size are dated because they change. Check the issuer’s page and a live quote before you act.

Older lists, including an earlier version of this page, also named PAGG and AGFI. One market-data site now marks PAGG as delisted. Before relying on either ticker, confirm that your broker shows a live quote and that the issuer still publishes a fund page. We left both out of the table for that reason.

How we chose these funds

We included a ticker if it is commonly offered in answer to this search and if a filing or a dated fund data page showed what it holds. We did not rank them by return, because they hold different things. A ranking would compare a land company with a futures fund. We also left out broad REIT funds, since their holdings are mostly not farms.

What each farmland ETF alternative owns

Farmland Partners (FPI)

Best for: readers who want listed exposure to row-crop land and rent. FPI’s third-quarter 2026 release reports about 70,000 acres in 11 states, from Illinois and Nebraska to California and Arkansas. It also owns four equipment dealership sites in Ohio.

The same release shows why a land REIT is not a calm proxy for land. FPI booked a net loss of US$15.5 million for the quarter, or US$0.36 per share, including about US$12.0 million of impairment tied to writing down California values. It is working to reduce its California holdings. It bought back 1,652,147 shares at an average US$10.32 and declared a US$0.09 quarterly dividend payable on 15 January 2027. A Louisiana appeals court also upheld an award of about US$3.5 million to former tenants, which FPI plans to appeal further.

Gladstone Land (LAND)

Best for: readers who want fruit, nut and vegetable land rather than mainly row crops. Its second-quarter 2026 release lists 144 farms and 98,688 acres in 14 states at 30 June, plus about 55,649 acre-feet of California water assets. Two Florida farms were sold after that date.

Crop results now affect its income more directly. Some farms moved to leases with lower fixed rent and higher participation rent, and most of that rent is booked in the fourth quarter once crop results are known. The quarter’s net loss to common holders was US$13.5 million, or US$0.32 per share. Monthly distributions were US$0.0467 per share. Third-quarter results are due on 10 November 2026, so check for them. For more detail on these two companies, see our list of US farmland REITs.

VanEck Agribusiness ETF (MOO)

Best for: broad, global agribusiness exposure. It is the largest equity fund in our table, with US$1.10 billion and an expense ratio of 0.56% on 30 October 2026, according to ETF Central. At 30 September it held 45 stocks, with about 51% of the portfolio in the US. Its five-year maximum drawdown on the same page was 39.01%. It owns companies, so farm incomes and equipment cycles drive it more than appraised land values do.

IShares MSCI Agriculture Producers ETF (VEGI)

Best for: the lowest fund fee in this group, if you accept concentration. Its expense ratio was 0.39% on 30 October 2026, and it held 121 stocks at 30 September. Yet Deere alone made up 30.37% of the fund at that holdings date. So a low cost and a long list of holdings do not mean an even spread of risk. Read the top holdings before you treat this as a farm producer basket.

First Trust Indxx Global Agriculture ETF (FTAG)

Best for: an alternative index of global farm-input stocks, at a higher cost. ETF Central data showed a 0.70% expense ratio and US$14.07 million in assets on 3 November 2026. Deere, Bayer and BASF led its holdings at 30 September. Small funds can trade with wider gaps between buy and sell prices, and they can close. Check volume before you place an order.

Global X AgTech & Food Innovation ETF (KROP)

Best for: a tilt toward farm technology rather than land. Global X’s fund page showed net assets of US$15.40 million, a 0.50% expense ratio, and Deere and Nutrien as the top two holdings on 4 November 2026. Its 1-year return at NAV was 15.90% and its five-year average annualized return at NAV was -10.50%, both to 31 October. The sharp difference between those two windows is a useful warning about reading a single period. For the technology side of this idea, see agriculture biotechnology, farming innovation trends and production technology in agriculture.

Invesco DB Agriculture Fund (DBA)

Best for: direct exposure to crop and livestock prices rather than land or company earnings. DBA’s 10-Q for 30 June 2026 shows long futures on corn, soybeans, wheat, cattle, hogs, cocoa, coffee, cotton and sugar. Most of its roughly US$1.20 billion in assets sat in short-term Treasury and money market holdings backing those positions. Futures funds have their own tax and roll-cost issues, so read the prospectus or ask a tax adviser.

Is there a Vanguard farmland ETF?

The phrase gets real searches, but we found no Vanguard ETF built around farmland. A broad real estate fund from any issuer holds mostly offices, warehouses, flats and similar property, so a small farmland holding, if any, would barely move it. If this is your aim, open the fund’s holdings file and search for FPI and LAND. That takes a minute and answers the question for that date.

What the land under these funds is worth

Whichever route you take, US farmland is the reference point. The USDA Land Values 2026 Summary, published on 31 July 2026, puts average US cropland at US$6,020 per acre, up 3.3% from 2025. Pasture averaged US$2,000, up 4.2%. Farm real estate, which includes buildings, averaged US$4,500, up 3.4%.

Chart

US farm land values per acre

US$ per acre, national averages

These are survey averages, not sale prices for any one farm. The University of Illinois Farm Policy News summary notes that values are still rising but more slowly than last year. State gaps are large. Iowa cropland averaged US$10,700, and Kansas averaged US$3,540. California reached US$18,430, yet both listed REITs have reported impairments on specific farms in the Southwest and California. A state average can rise while individual orchards or water-short farms lose value.

What land earns before any growth

The American Farm Bureau’s review of USDA data gives an average cropland rent of US$160 per acre in 2026, down US$1. Divide that by the US$6,020 average value and gross rent is about 2.7% of land value, before property tax, insurance and management. That is our own simple division of two national averages. It suggests that, at these values, much of any return above rent has to come from the land value rising.

Chart

Cropland value by state

US$ per acre, 2026, selected states and US average

▶ How to read a satellite farm advisory, including a change in expected yield on one field. · 9:13

How farmland has performed as a direct investment

The NCREIF Farmland Index tracks institutional farms valued by appraisal and reports returns on an unlevered basis, as if bought without debt. It is the common yardstick for direct ownership. It is not a fund you can buy, and an ETF or REIT would not match it.

Chart

NCREIF Farmland Index: 2024 and 2025

Percent per year; total return and its income part

In 2025 the index returned just 0.20%, as income of 3.05% was largely offset by a 2.80% fall in appraised values, FarmTogether reported from NCREIF’s fourth-quarter data. In 2024 the return was -1.03%, with income of 2.49%, according to its earlier review. FarmTogether sells farmland investments, so treat its commentary with that in mind and check NCREIF’s own return tables for the latest quarter.

The longer record is stronger. The same 2024 review gave an average of 10.15% a year from 1992 to 2024, and the 2025 review gave about 9.4% to 9.5% a year over 20 years for both permanent and annual cropland. Those two recent weak years sit inside a long, strong series. Past results do not tell you what the next period will bring, and the SEC reminds investors that fund holdings can fall and you can lose money.

How to choose between REITs, ETFs and direct land

Start with the risk you actually want to hold. Here are the main differences in plain terms.

1. Decide whether you want land or the farm economy. If you want land, an equity ETF will not give you that. If you want the farm economy, a REIT is too narrow.
2. Read the top ten holdings. VEGI’s Deere weight shows why. Many of these funds move with a small group of shares.
3. Check crop and state concentration for a REIT. FPI is reducing its California land. LAND has large exposure to permanent crops and water.
4. Compare price with underlying value. A REIT’s shares can trade above or below the value of its land. Look for the company’s own estimate and its date.
5. Look at size and trading volume. Funds under about US$20 million, like FTAG and KROP on the dates above, deserve extra care on bid-ask gaps and closure risk.
6. Ask about tax. REIT distributions, commodity funds and direct land each receive different tax treatment. Rules differ by country, so get professional advice.

Readers outside the US face extra steps. Availability of US-listed ETFs varies by country, and withholding tax can apply to distributions. Ask your broker or adviser what is permitted where you live. Other options, such as land trusts on your home exchange, would need their own review.

If you are comparing broader routes into the sector, our guide to ways to invest in agriculture explains land, REITs and agtech side by side.

Chart

Expense ratios of the agriculture ETFs

Percent per year, data dated 30 October to 4 November 2026

Private and non-traded farmland funds

If you searched for a farmland mutual fund or investment fund, this is the part of the market you may land on. Private funds and non-traded REITs can hold farms directly, so they come closer to the land itself. The trade-off is access and exit. Many private offerings are limited to accredited or institutional investors, and minimum amounts can be high.

The SEC’s guide to REITs lists specific risks of non-traded products. They are hard to sell, and a value per share may not be available until 18 months after an offering closes. Distributions may also exceed the money the REIT actually earned from operations, and can come from offering proceeds or borrowing. Fees can be high as well.

• Ask how you get out. Find out whether redemptions exist, how often, and whether the manager can suspend them.
• Ask how values are set. Find out who appraises the land, how often, and whether that party is independent.
• Ask where distributions come from. Rent and crop income differ from new investor money or debt.
• Check registration. Use the SEC’s EDGAR database and your regulator’s adviser and broker search before you send money.

Compare direct land with a listed fund

This calculator sets a land purchase against any listed fund or REIT for one year. It does not ask which is better. It shows what your assumptions imply, and how much of the land return depends on growth in land value. Change every number to match your own case.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

How to check a farmland holding yourself

Filings tell you what a company says it owns. If you are doing due diligence on a farm or a land portfolio, three checks go a long way, and none needs special training.

• Match the location. Look up the county and acreage in the filing or sale listing, then compare it with public parcel maps.
• Look at crop cover over time. Satellite vegetation maps show whether a field has been planted and how its cover compares with past seasons. They show change, not the cause, so a low reading still needs a visit.
• Check water. A permanent-crop farm depends on its water rights. Ask for the records and read local rules.

Farmonaut gives satellite vegetation maps for fields you draw, which can help with the second check on land you own or manage. It does not measure the value of a REIT’s holdings, and it is not an investment tool. The Farmonaut Satellite + AI Farm Monitoring System is made for farm monitoring first.

▶ How an admin app is used to oversee many fields across a large farm operation. · 7:27

Common mistakes with a farmland ETF search

• Treating a list as a recommendation. A ticker that appears on a list may hold no land at all.
• Using the land index as a fund forecast. NCREIF returns exclude fund fees and debt, and the index has no share price. A listed REIT has company overhead, a share price and usually debt.
• Quoting a price from an old article. Expense ratios, fund size and dividends change. Use the date, or look it up again.
• Assuming the state average fits your farm. Soil, water, tenant and crop type can move a farm far from the average.
• Ignoring exit. A private fund or a farm can take much longer to sell than you expect, and non-traded products can be hard to sell.

Related pages on our site: precision agriculture tools, sustainable resource management, carbon footprinting, product traceability, large-farm administration, crop loan and insurance checks, fleet management, satellite data API, API developer docs and mobile and web apps.

FAQ

Is there a farmland ETF in the US?

We know of no US-listed ETF that owns farmland directly, as of 5 November 2026. FPI and LAND are listed REITs that own farms. MOO, VEGI, FTAG and KROP hold company shares.

What is the closest thing to a farmland ETF?

A listed farmland REIT is closest, because it owns farms and trades on an exchange. It is one company rather than a diversified basket, and its share price can move away from the value of its land.

How much is US farmland worth per acre?

USDA put average US cropland at US$6,020 per acre and pasture at US$2,000 in 2026. State averages range widely, from US$3,540 for Kansas cropland to US$18,430 for California cropland.

How has farmland performed recently?

The NCREIF Farmland Index returned -1.03% in 2024 and 0.20% in 2025. Its income return stayed positive in both years, while appraised values fell. Its 1992 to 2024 average was 10.15% a year.

Do agriculture ETFs track land prices?

Not directly. They hold company shares, so earnings, commodity cycles and stock markets drive them. Deere alone was about 30% of VEGI at 30 September 2026.

How do I invest in farmland with an ETF?

You can’t own land through the ETFs reviewed here. You can buy a listed farmland REIT through a broker for land exposure, or an agriculture ETF for sector exposure. Compare holdings, cost and tax, and take professional advice for your own case.