Some Colorado farmland could play a pivotal role in changing the U.S. agriculture industry. A 48-year-old New York billionaire has been buying land in Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico since he was in his 20s and is is working to transform the world of grain farming. Larry Ryckman, co-Founder and editor of The Colorado Sun, spoke with KUNC’s Nikole Robinson Carroll about Stefan Soloviev and his plans.
“He (Soloviev) says he wants to help farmers get the best price for their grain,” Ryckman said. “He's built a huge multi-million dollar grain elevator and even a railroad to help get grain from his farms and his neighbors to market.”
Now, Soloviev has set his sights on going head-to-head against some of the biggest conglomerates in agriculture. He owns more than 400,000 acres, or 625 square miles.
“He runs about 5,000 head of cattle in New Mexico and grows about a million bushels of sorghum and wheat as well as cattle in Colorado and Kansas,” Ryckman said. “And he recently built a 5-million bushel grain elevator in eastern Kiowa County. Back in 2018, he paid $10 million for 142 Mile Railroad, a railroad line to transport the grain to market.”
Soloviev says if all goes as planned, he'll stop farming on roughly 130,000 acres in eastern Colorado and western Kansas and rent the land to local farmers at market rates. The grain produced will be stored in his grain elevator at Sheridan Lake near the Kansas border until it's loaded on trains to Pueblo. The rails connect the grain elevator to the nationwide Union Pacific rail network. Soloviev told KUNC in an email the effort is focused on profitability, with an emphasis on profit for local ag producers.
“He's become one of the most influential members of Colorado's Eastern Plains farming community,” Ryckman said. “And he says he's trying to build this operation to what he calls a ‘farmer-friendly, farmer-first’ company that can compete with international agricultural giants like Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland.”
Soloviev was met with a lot of skepticism from local farmers at first. But over the past couple of decades, Ryckman said he's earned their respect by living and working on the land among them.
“He's got 22 children and some of them are out in the fields working with them,” Ryckman said. “He says he really doesn't want to be seen as a competitor trying to outgrow his neighbors. He's the guy fighting to get the best price for everyone's grain.”
Author's note: In a previous version of this story, it was reported that "Soloviev said the effort isn't about making money, but supporting local ag producers." That is inaccurate and has been edited to reflect an emphasis on profitability with a priority on profit for local farmers.
