Farmland Partners issues $15m bond to Farmer Mac

The NYSE-listed REIT has raised $15m from a 10-year bond issued under its $150m secured note purchase facility with Farmer Mac.

Farmland Partners, the NYSE-listed farmland real estate investment trust, has issued a $14.9 million bond under its $150 million secured note purchase facility with the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Farmer Mac.

The 10-year, interest-only bond brings the total principal amount outstanding under the Farmer Mac Facility to $96 million, according to a press release.

Farmland Partner raised $20.7 million in debt from Farmer Mac in August 2014. Earlier in March, Farmer Mac entered into a joint venture with Contour Valuation Service to establish a fee appraisal services for farmland and agribusiness owners in the US. Gladstone Land, another listed real estate investment trust, has also acquired debt from Farmer Mac in the past.

“This 10-year bond will begin to extend the average maturity of our debt and provide us with capital for additional acquisitions,” said Paul Pittman, chief executive of Farmland Partners, in a statement.

Farmland Partners listed on the New York Stock Exchange in April 2014; its shares are still trading below their IPO price of $14 but have risen 9 percent this year to close at $11.76 on Tuesday.