MAYBE I'LL BUY A FARM?

Last weekend, an idea infiltrated my mind, and it won’t leave. Fittingly, the idea fairy graced my presence with this nugget on the way to - of all places - a country concert.

“Buy a farm,” it said. “Sow some roots. Start there, then build out the world of Comma from that place.”

Now, I’m being a bit whimsical here, but that’s the seed - and the vision has grown.

The anatomy of a vision

It all started last weekend when my friend Alex and I trekked across two rivers from Brooklyn to MetLife stadium to see Morgan Wallen live.

En route, Alex shared what he’s learned over the last year from immersing himself into the world of agtech and connecting with the people leading the charge.

As we were talking, I was consumed from the inside out with the effervescent electricity born when the curious seeker, investor, and dreamer inside me collide to paint a vision of my life and my Life’s Work.

I can literally see it in my mind. It’s a vision of life - all of it. My life, as well as that of The Comma Project. And it’s beautiful.

The anatomy of a vision - for me at least - feels like this: imagine you’re underway on a journey across a landscape. The destination? Unclear - shrouded in fog. You know you’re headed somewhere, but you’re not exactly sure where it is, or even what it looks like. Sometimes, there’s a clear-cut path laid out in front of you. Other times, the path fades into the terrain, disappearing completely.

I think of the destination as the vision for the life I’m building, and the path as how I get there. Sometimes, I feel like I can see the vision of my life clearly off in the distance, with no path visible in front of me - no idea how to get there. Other times, it’s the opposite: I can see the path right in front of me - I know what the next right thing is, yet with no conception of where it might lead me.

In moments like the ones on the train to New Jersey last weekend, when the vision materializes in front of me, it’s as if the fog clears off in the distance. I can see more clearly where I'm heading.

At least for now.

It very well might change.

In fact, I bet it will. Just like when we progress along a hiking trail, the view of our destination changes - and in fact, so might the ultimate destination itself.

It feels important also to mention here that it’s in fact the journey, not the destinations that make up our lives. Or, said another way: the process.

I believe in having a vision - a direction - for our lives, while working to drop into each day along the way. Ultimately, our life is process - even if we’re able to reach our destinations, life keeps moving on. So, we must choose a new direction, and keep moving, once again immersing ourselves in the process of the journey.

This isn’t to diminish the importance of the destination - not at all. A targeted destination - a vision for our lives - in fact determines how those days of the process are spent along the way. It’s just that I endeavor to remember that at the end of my days, it’s actually the aggregate of all the moments on the path - at moments, running downhill, and at others, hacking the way through an overgrown thicket - that make me and my life.

That’s all I ever have, and it’s all I ever will.

Back to the farm

First, a few thoughts from the investor in me on what’s foundationally interesting from a strategic point of view about owning a farm. I see a combination of some compelling macro trends and some things specific to Comma’s vision.

Here’s my thesis:

• Agtech is proliferating

  • As more technology for the agricultural world is developed and implemented, yields increase, making farming more profitable, and the investment more valuable

• There’s a large, fragmented base of smaller, family-owned farms, distinct from the large, industrially-owned ones

  • For those farms owned by families, relationships will matter

  • They’re family businesses, but more than that, they’re family homes, traditions, and legacies. Many will want to see these stories continued with the values and style of their previous owners, which is conducive to smaller, more relational partnerships - not purely transactional ones

  • With this in mind, engaging as a human - committed to building relationships first and foremost - rather than as a corporate, industrial operation will resonate more deeply

• Those family-owned farms have an aging and dwindling farmer population

  • The average age of these farmers is increasing, and as they age out, fewer younger farmers are entering the business, resulting in fewer and fewer farms with succession plans in place (according to ChatGPT, 92% of farmers over 55 in Canada have no formal succession plan)

  • This means more opportunities for those entering with respect, vision, and humanity, especially with farmers who look to transition their farms to humans, not companies

• Those aging farmers are less willing to experiment and take risks with new technology

  • I can imagine the main concern for many of these aging farmers is maintaining and securing their livelihood, with less appetite for the change and risks necessary for innovation - especially those running with smaller profit margins and less financial flexibility

  • This was the story of a farming entrepreneur I met at the Founders Only conference earlier this year. He shared how challenging it can be to get farmers of older generations to transition to using new technology

  • Comma can be a bridge, taking traditional farming operations into the future

• “Unsexy” businesses are sexier than ever

  • Younger entrepreneurs and investors often lean towards cutting-edge digital technologies, leaving the millennia-old practices, rituals, and necessities with less competition

  • This is all while technology incorporated into legacy industries is presenting more and more attractive opportunities

  • We’re seeing some of this as typically unloved businesses like self-storage, manufacturing, and logistics are garnering some attention alongside those sexy industries like AI

• An investment in a farm is a real estate investment with the upside of the business of Comma

  • The value of hard assets like land, property, and equipment provides downside protection, especially with rising land prices over the long term - which is particularly attractive in today’s inflationary environment. All this collateral also unlocks attractive debt financing for the deal

  • The upside is a well-run, increasingly innovative - and therefore higher yielding and more valuable - farming business

  • The up-upside includes my broader vision for Comma…

Now, the vision

I see a farm, surrounded by lush, green woods. Ideally hilly, and butting up against some body of water.

I see fields of crops next to a collection of buildings that house all the parts of life. Spaces for living, sleeping, eating, moving, training, creating, connecting, building, pausing, recovering, contemplating, studying.

I see stables housing a herd of horses, to spark the deeply intuitive and embodied “wild self.” Where we learn from the nonverbal, energetic presence of these powerful, perceptive, present animals.

I see myself and my people there, living and working. I see us building alongside the Comma team. I see others coming to the land to engage with the world and people of Comma. I see them coming to experience Comma’s hospitality - staying the night in a room, sharing a meal in the restaurant, taking some time to connect in the café, and working in gathering spaces. I see spaces designed with beauty in mind, committed to feeding the depth and richness of our humanity, and built to foster meaningful connection.

I see fellowship programs in our incubation studio, housing and supporting builders, artists, and creators to live amongst the land and each other. Offering time, space, and companionship to those in the process of working towards their vision of their life and Life’s Work.

I see a new type of school. A leadership academy of retreats, workshops, and apprenticeship programs for those seeking wisdom, in practice. A place to be in the process of becoming, together.

I see a brand and an ethos that extends beyond the land, through products made with craft and artisanship at their core that tell the story of Comma through a brand with vibrancy, soul, and a sense of place.

I see a neighboring community that flourishes alongside Comma’s evolution, all while retaining its spirit. I feel the fresh energy emanating from the people and the spaces surrounding The Comma Project. (I’m inspired greatly by Brunello Cucinelli’s work and care for Solomeo, in Umbria, Italy - which he has reinvigorated alongside his company.)

I see this newsletter and podcast, sharing the stories of the evolution of The Comma Project, the people behind it, and those who descend upon the land to gather along the way. (Here, I’m inspired by what Brett Underwood has done with Ghost Town Living in Cerro Gordo, California.) I see other projects as well - art exhibitions, books, films, and cultural events.

I see a place where we live and become alongside the land, crops, and spaces of The Comma Project.

Where we plant literal and figurative roots, and foster life - our own, our community’s, and the natural world’s.

A place for life, for being in process, and for connecting with others that are as well.

I see a place for life - all of life - to happen.

Until next time,
Devin