Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI) (the “Company” or “FPI”) today announced the addition of Dr. Bruce Sherrick, a renowned agricultural economist and farmland expert at the University of Illinois, to its Board of Directors (the “Board”), effective July 23, 2024.

Dr. Sherrick has held the Marjorie and Jerry Fruin Professorship at the University of Illinois since 2013 and has run the TIAA-CREF Center for Farmland Research at the university’s Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics since 2014. For the past 22 years, Dr. Sherrick has also been a Managing Partner at Integrated Financial Analytics & Research (iFAR), a consulting firm that specializes in credit risk assessment and modeling of agricultural finance institutions.

Throughout his career, Dr. Sherrick has been active in the farmland investment community and currently manages webinars and reporting related to the NCREIF Farmland Data Set, a compilation of data that track the investment performance of farmland properties. He also oversees the annual Farmland Values and Lease Trends project of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

Dr. Sherrick has a wealth of public company board experience, having served as director and audit committee member of Farmer Mac (NYSE: AGM), an agricultural credit provider, from 2012 to 2021. Dr. Sherrick has also served as director for Peoples Company, a farm brokerage company, since 2024, the agriculture sustainability company Leading Harvest since 2019, and Twin Cedars Bank, an Iowa financial institution that specializes in agricultural finance, since 2021.

“Bruce is one of the most respected agricultural economists in the United States. There is arguably no one in academia with more experience or expertise in the farmland market, and we are excited that he’s agreed to join our Board,” said Paul Pittman, FPI’s Executive Chairman. “He will bring economic insights, data, and a unique perspective to our team, which will be an asset for the Company as we continue to strengthen our operational performance and plan for the future.”

“Farmland Partners is respected in the farmland community for its innovative approach to investing and providing a public vehicle for access to farmland investments, and for its land management and the creative partnerships it builds with its tenants,” Sherrick said. “I’m excited to be a part of FPI and look forward to working closely with Paul and the rest of the Board to help the Company and its investors maximize returns.”

Dr. Sherrick graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science and a Ph.D., with a focus on finance, economics, and agriculture.