Bill Gatesā purchase of 2,100 acres of North Dakota farmland has been approved.
According to Farms.com, Gatesā Red River Trust company purchased 2,100 acres of farmland for $13.5 million.
Before the approval of the purchase, North Dakotaās attorney general stepped in.
Last month, Attorney General Drew Wrigley sent a letter to the Red River Trust demanding an explanation on how Gates intends to use the land.
The letter explains, under North Dakota law, āAll corporations or limited liability companies (LLC) are prohibited from owning or leasing farmland or ranchland, and from engaging in farming or ranching.ā
The letter continues, āIn addition, the law places certain limitations on the ability of trusts to own farmland or ranchland.ā
Read the letter below:
https://twitter.com/Doctorfromliny/status/1539553552875634688
Farms.com reported that Wrigley looked into the matter and found that āthe sale and purchase complied with the law, because Gates will be leasing the land back to farmers.ā
The outlet noted Gates is the largest private owner of farmland in the U.S. with 270,000 acres across dozens of states.
The Daily Mail reported that North Dakotaās Agriculture Commissioner, Republican Doug Goehring, previously said many people expressed concern that they are being exploited by wealthy individuals buying land who do not share values of the state.
āIāve gotten a big earful on this from clear across the state, itās not even from that neighborhood,ā Goehring said.
He added, āThose people are upset, but there are others that are just livid about this.ā
Gates previously made headlines over his suggestion that the wealthiest countries should switch to eating ā100% synthetic beef.ā
He said in 2021, āYou can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is theyāre going to make it taste even better over time. Eventually, that green premium is modest enough that you can sort of change the people or use regulation to totally shift the demand.ā