NMS Feb 2021

Bill Gates is Now the Largest Farmland Owner in America

are in Louisiana and Arkansas, where he owns 69,071 acres and 47,927 acres, respectively, the outlet’s research found. He also reportedly owns about 16,000 acres in his home state of Washington, including a 14,500-acre tract in the Horse by Noah Manskar, The New York Post Heaven Hills region that was purchased for ill Gates may no longer be the world’s nearly $171 million. richest man, but he can claim a new The land is owned both directly and title: America’s farmland king. indirectly by Cascade Investment, the SeatThe billionaire Microsoft co-founder has tle-area firm that Gates — the world’s become the largest owner of farmland in third-richest man with a net worth of $132 the United States by quietly buying up billion, according to Bloomberg — set up massive plots across the county, a new to manage his massive fortune, according report says. to The Land Report. Gates’ portfolio comprises about A hint at Gates’ huge farm holdings 242,000 acres of farmland and nearly 27,000 emerged in a 2014 Wall Street Journal profile acres of other land across 19 states, accord- of Michael Larson, the money manager who ing to The Land Report, a magazine for land serves as Cascade’s chief investment officer. investors that tracks the nation’s biggest The piece noted that the firm owns “at least landowners. 100,000 acres of farmland in California, IlliThe biggest chunks of Gates’ holdings nois, Iowa, Louisiana and other states — or

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an area seven times bigger than Manhattan.” It’s uncertain why Gates has invested in so much farmland or how his tracts are currently being used. Cascade did not immediately respond to a phone message, and the company declined to comment to The Land Report “other than to say that Cascade is very supportive of sustainable farming,” the outlet said. Agriculture is also a key focus area for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the massive charity run by Gates and his wife. The foundation aims to “support country-led inclusive agricultural transformation across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia,” according to its website. While Gates is America’s biggest farmland owner, he’s far from being the nation’s largest landowner in general. That crown belongs to Liberty Media chairman John Malone, who has 2.2 million acres, according to The Land Report.

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TOUGH ENOUGH FOR BISON-TOUGH ENOUGH FOR CATTLE

We met up with Brock Toler with Back Forty Bison and asked him a few questions about his opinion on the effectiveness of the Lewis Cattle Oilers. Brock is the ranch mana er for Back Forty Bison near Dadeville, MO. Brock was skeptical, at first, on the durability of the Oilers. qBison are notorious for tearin thin s up....flippin thin s over....To bison, everythin ’s a toy! To this date, they haven’t tipped one over! The durability has really been surprisin ”. The bi est thin that Brock loves about the Oiler is the efficiency.

“In the bison industry, the oiler pays for itself in one year” -Brock Toler, Back Forty Bison

2021

"They are so efficient! With the fact that they are not gravity fed, I’m not losing a bunch of product on the ground! The pump administers only the amount that needs to be put out on the animal! With the Lewis Cattle Oiler, there is no waste. I can fill up the 8 gallon tank, on the Oiler, and it will last all summer long with the bison scratching on it ALL the time!”

WWW.USALEWISCATTLEOILERS.COM

l appear This issue wilrnet for on the inte s after 12 full monthon. publicati

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