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When you hear about Bill Gates, Microsoft and philanthropy invariably come to mind, and yet the fourth-richest man in the world loves agriculture. In recent years, his investment company Cascade has bought land as if his life depended on it.
Bill Gates is the largest agricultural land owner in the United States. According to a Land Report, Microsoft’s co-founder now has a whopping 242,000 acres spread across 18 states. This shopping spree has left many people wondering what Gates’ end game is, as he never spoke about his love of growing crops and the “pleasant” smell of fresh manure.
According to the New York Post, Gates’ interest in agricultural land is motivated by his desire to tackle the issue of climate change and help poorer countries, where people are starving.
The tabloid writes that Gates’ farmland empire is managed by Cottonwood Ag Management, which in turn is a member of Leading Harvest, a nonprofit that helps farmers around the world “ now adopt better practices so that we can all have a healthier developing a future for future generations ”.
Previously, reports suggested that agriculture, especially beef production, is contributing to the CO2 emissions that trap the sun’s heat and, consequently, lead to climate change.
Gates previously said that without innovation the world will not be able to deal with climate change, which many scientists believe will result in extreme temperatures, natural disasters and the collapse of ecosystems.
To this end, Gates participates in environmental projects and invests in various companies. One of these is Impossible Foods that produces beef substitutes.
Bruce Sherrick, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who is also on the board of Leading Harvest, says that farms are not only part of the problem of climate change, but can become a solution.
Sherrick believes the Microsoft co-founder will make a big difference if he succeeds in showing that agriculture can be both profitable and sustainable.