To the Editor:

Farms here are the bedrock of this community. Yet ownership and control of this land are quietly shifting.

A new investment platform called AcreTrader, which relies on data powered by AI tools, buys farmland and sells it in shares
to investors. One of its earliest backers was Vice President JD Vance. With AcreTrader, our local fields are becoming pieces
in a much larger financial game.

On paper, it looks modern and efficient: farmers lease the land, investors collect the rent, and everyone benefits. But in
practice, with outside investors, rising land prices make it harder for Ventura’s families and young farmers to buy their
own acres.

Here in Ventura, it means families who have grown oranges, avocados, and flowers for generations may find themselves renting
ground, while distant investors—including foreign nationals—hold the deeds.

Leasing gives less security for long-term investments in soil, water, and sustainability. Profits flow outward, while the
risks—drought, labor shortages, climate extremes—stay here at home.

Meanwhile, Trump administration policies amplify these pressures. Cuts to SNAP and WIC reduce the demand for fresh produce.
Immigration crackdowns make farm labor more uncertain. Cuts to weather services weaken the forecasts farmers need to protect
citrus from frost or plan for Santa Ana winds.

Layer onto that the proposals in Project 2025, the blueprint for this second Trump administration. They include cutting farm
safety nets, reducing crop-insurance help, dismantling conservation programs, as well as slashing SNAP and WIC benefits. For
Ventura’s farmers, that means more risk, fewer supports, and weaker markets—while investors are shielded from loss.

What it really means is that, with the policies of Trump, a very compliant Republican House and Senate, the implementation
of Project 2025, and tools like JD Vance-backed AcreTrader, the risk that our farmers will become sharecroppers on their own
lands—unable to pass their land down to their families—is greater than it’s been since the Dust Bowl.

Is this what we want?

Pat Collins,

Fillmore, Ca