The Iowa caucuses and a winter whiteout made the 17th annual LAND INVESTMENT EXPO even more memorable. — The Editors

This year’s Land Investment Expo got walloped by an unexpected snowstorm that blanketed downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Sponsored by Peoples Company, the annual gathering drew an international audience, both in person and online. The next edition of the Land Investment Expo has already been slated for January 14, 2025.

As always, the traditional dinner at the Stine Barn was nothing short of superb. One of the many highlights of the evening was the trio of wines from the Pacific Northwest that were served: a 2021 Bledsoe McDaniels Pinot Noir, a 2020 Capital Call Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2020 Doubleback Winery Cabernet Sauvignon.

The afternoon session’s concluding panel — on foreign ownership of US farmland — proved to be an audience favorite. Participants included Harrison Pittman and Micah Brown (National Agricultural Law Center), David Bergvall (Manulife Investment Management), and Todd Friedman (Stoel Rives).