Growing Together is a blog series featuring people who have joined Peoples Company and their motivation to team up with a national leader in agricultural real estate services to pair experience with data-driven decision-making and deliver value to landowners. If you would like to learn more about partnering with or joining Peoples Company, please reach out to Molly Zaver, Director of Industry Partnerships, at Molly@PeoplesCompany.com.
California and Iowa might seem like an odd couple, but they're two of the nation's leading agricultural regions. That common thread is where the partnership with Peoples Company started.
I've been appraising for over twenty years, the last ten exclusively in production agriculture. Prior to Peoples Company, I worked with a global real estate services provider with tremendous reach, but agriculture was a niche there and I found myself wanting something different. I wanted a team built with people who were focused on agriculture. That search brought me, my brokerage partner, and Peoples Company together in 2020 around a shared vision for the California operation.
Leaving a large, diversified firm for a more focused path had its challenges, but what made it work was Peoples Company's singular dedication to agriculture. Peoples Company offered a balance of the nimble entrepreneurial spirit found in an independent office, paired with the scale and dedicated professionals found in a national company.
What stood out early on was how openly Peoples Company shared its long-term thinking. This wasn't about chasing short-term wins, it was built with both intention and patience, with a clear belief in where it wanted to be five and ten years out. That kind of transparency and aspiration made the decision easier.
I still remember my first trip out to Iowa. It wrapped up with a bonfire by the river with several of the veterans. It wasn’t glamorous, but what struck me most was the people. I honestly couldn't tell you who held what job or title at the company that night, because there was no ego, no one touting accomplishments, just genuine people with a shared interest in the work.
From day one, Peoples Company has felt like a team. Despite being based on the West Coast, we have always felt connected and included, while honoring our regional mission and expertise. The Land Investment Expo has been part of that, too. It's grown into one of the premier events in the farmland investment space, and simply being connected to it, and to the people who attend, has been a point of real pride. Though I'll admit, as a native Californian, an Iowa January can be a bit chilly, to say the least.
That connection continues and six years into my work with Peoples Company, I'm proud of the team and network we are building. Our market has seen a lot of changes, but we have invested in relationships and are in a better position than ever to grow.
Agriculture valuation isn't always well understood outside the industry. The properties we're asked to value rarely sit in one clean category. Single assignments can include row crops, permanent plantings, ag facilities, sometimes even a portfolio including all of them. Our work touches investment groups, attorneys, landowners, and other regional stakeholders, each with unique needs and goals.
We're not just providing a simple value; we’re presenting empirical evidence in an analysis that has to lead our clients to the same conclusion and opinion as ours. It's part art, part science.
Appraisal does not provide the opportunity to test an opinion in the market; the expectation is that we get it right on the first shot. That's part of why a commitment to innovation matters so much to how we work. Peoples Company's culture of innovation keeps sharpening our own approach to research and valuation methodology.
Peoples Company's commitment to serving landowners, demonstrated by Land Investment Expo and other industry leadership, has helped us retain and grow a lot of relationships. That has been especially meaningful with large, sophisticated institutional clients that are keenly aware of industry leadership and reputation. That really helped our team keep those opportunities open. It's also made transitions natural for the brokerage and other work we do across the entire region.
California alone farms roughly 24 million acres and generates over $60 billion in agricultural production each year, more than any other state in the country. That's a lot of ground to cover for our team. If you're thinking about joining Peoples Company, my advice is simple: LEAN IN. I've learned as much from my colleagues by being part of a larger team and organization as I hope they've learned from my experience. A rising tide raises all ships.
Reach out to Jeremy Darner at 619.757.3435 or email him at Jeremy@PeoplesCompany.com.
