Steward Farm Trust is a diversified portfolio of farm investments that provides real returns to investors.
Steward is the world’s first crowdfarming platform, enabling people to invest directly in sustainable agriculture and the future of food. Steward Farm Trust is our premier offering—a diversified portfolio of farm investments. You can support farmers working hard to create the future—a sustainable global food supply that reduces the impact of climate change by sequestering carbon through natural processes, preserves the resources necessary to feed future generations and works to promote a just and equitable food system for everyone. All this while also making your money work hard for you.
An innovative fintech framework for the future of agriculture. The Steward model creates a healthy yield for both farmers and investors: sustainable farmers purchase the land, equipment, and infrastructure they need to grow while investors earn dividends paid from interest on secured mortgage farm loans.
Professionally curated investments. Each and every farm undergoes rigorous evaluation and due diligence prior to approval and are thoroughly vetted by our Farm Steward team of agricultural specialists.
Secured loans reduce risk. Most loans in the Steward Farm Trust are secured first-mortgage loans. A first mortgage is secured by real property and has priority over all other claims on the property in case of default. Ultimately, this means lower risk to you and your investment .
Occasionally we will also underwrite leasehold, equipment, and unsecured loans, in which case the farmer commits to a higher interest rate so that the investor is compensated for the higher risk.
Low fees that let you keep more of the financial returns. No front-end or back-end fees. A 1% annual servicing fee paid by investors covers our costs.
A proven track record. Steward Founder and CEO, Dan Miller, was Co-Founder, President, and a Director of Fundrise—the largest U.S. real estate crowdfunding platform, with more than $500 million raised. Dan brings to Steward the experience and expertise to sustain rapid growth.
Complete investor alignment. Our founder has invested more than $4 million of his own capital into Steward to fund start-up costs and the initial portfolio of farm loans, ensuring that interests are investor aligned.
Accessibility for those who care to make a real impact. You can invest in the future of your food (and your personal finances) even if you are not an accredited investor .
Mobilization of the enormous amount of capital embedded within the growing interest in the healthy, equitable and sustainable food system. This capital is needed to reduce chronic disease, feed the growing population of the planet and protect the resources needed to provide for future generations. With smaller farmers, there is a reduced need for middlemen, and as a result, farming is changing, less centralized operations are likely to grow in prevalence, increasing resilience, food security and efficiency.
Targeting an underserved market.Steward serves the small to medium sized farms that make up 89% percent of U.S. agribusinesses. The farms we support are dedicated to producing food in a way that rebuilds the natural systems we all depend on for clean air and water, and a healthy food system. The loan market to these businesses is worth $63.3 billion in the U.S. alone. However, since they are not producing the commodity crops that underpin a system of cheap, processed food, they are excluded from the conventional funding systems used to support industrial agriculture.
The farms we target aren’t just sustainable, they make business sense, too. They have low expenses due to the removal of purchase inputs from regenerative practices, low overhead due to farm size, limited staff and small equipment, and have already established markets with direct sales to end users for a high margin. They build on this robust foundation through our investment. Simply put, investing in these farms provides a solid financial return .
No money or other consideration is being solicited for our Regulation A+ offering in any jurisdiction where prohibited.
An offering statement regarding this offering has been filed with the SEC. You may obtain a copy of the offering circular that is part of that offering statement from gosteward.com/oc. You should read the offering circular before making any investment.
This offering of securities is only targeted and available to individuals resident in the states of California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and in the District of Columbia.
Sector: Steward makes loans to farmers and ranchers to purchase agricultural land and invest in their farm business. Steward focuses on sustainable agriculture, aquaculture, and forestry. Farm type varies, including, among others, fruit and vegetable, livestock, poultry and dairy.
Farm Size: Steward generally targets small-to-medium sized farms, with project sizes of 1-100 acres, although the company considers projects smaller and larger.
Geographical Location: Primarily in the United States, although over time Steward may expand its operations to foreign markets.
Project Stage: The project stage can be acquisition, construction, development and/or stabilization.
Security & Collateral: Primarily secured lending in the form of a first-mortgage loan, but will also consider leasehold, equipment, and unsecured loans.
Experience Requirements: Borrowers typically have at least 3 years of farming experience, although this varies case by case, and is often times much more.
Investment Size: Generally, Steward provides loans of $25,000 - $1,000,000.
Interest Rates: Can vary from 6-12% per annum, although the company will consider interest rates below or above these parameters, depending on the unique circumstances of each project.
Loan-to-Cost: The borrower equity is expected to be 15%+ as a percentage of the total project cost, although the company may make exceptions in unique circumstances.
Dividends to Investor: Income received from farm loans is paid to investors as dividends.
Farmers apply for funding on the Steward platform. Once qualified they typically receive a small unsecured loan for immediate improvements. Once they have built trust with Steward that they are able to effectively use invested funds, as well as service their debt obligations, they often transition into a mortgage loan to make significant investments. This allows for rapid increases in revenue, which leads to a stabilized long term loan once they have a multi year record of positive cash flow.
The company runs a number of compliance and due diligence checks on a borrower and its principals to determine creditworthiness and to prevent fraud, which include but are not limited to:
We have purposely built a platform that opens up agriculture investing to as many people as possible. We all have a stake in ensuring that small and medium sized farms can prosper, so that our communities can be well fed, and together with the farmers we invest in, financially prosper together.
For US investors, the minimum subscription amount is ten shares, or $100 at the initial offering price of $10 per share of Class A Common Stock. For foreign investors, the minimum subscription amount is 1000 shares, or $10,000 (USD) at the initial offering price of $10 per share of Class A Common Stock.
We love your enthusiasm! However, this investment is speculative and involves substantial risks. For further information about these risks, please see the Offering Circular. You should purchase these securities only if you can afford a complete loss of your investment.
Furthermore, any information provided is for educational and general information purposes only. It is not intended to provide investment, financial, accounting, legal, tax or other professional advice and should not be relied upon or regarded as a substitute for such advice. We suggest that you seek guidance from a qualified professional advisor before making any investment. You should also read the Offering Circular, as information presented elsewhere is simplified and does not provide all information relevant to your investment decision-making process.
"Through Steward, individual investors can put as little as $100 into small, sustainable farms that otherwise have trouble gaining access to government and bank loans." Fast Company
Join a growing community of sustainably-minded investors reaping the rewards from responsible farming