Our firm
Tiverton was founded on the premise that leading farmers & finance professionals make the best Ag team.
Our history
Founded in 2012 in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tiverton’s founders (David Chattleton, Brek Burgweger, Monte Nevitt & Christian Ramirez) assembled a team of farmers and investors to advance agriculture through effective partnership and capital solutions.
Back then, to combine the world of finance and farming was a rare feat. Most firms focused on buying and leasing land. Tiverton focused on farmers. We believe they are the most undervalued asset in ag.
We provide both loan and equity partnership capital solutions to farmers.
We are a $2 billion, SEC-registered investment advisor who takes an owner-operator, long-term approach to Ag. It’s all we do.
View from the Tiverton Dairy Farm in Greenwood, Virginia.
Operating expertise drives value
Farming is done by farmers…not dirt
Most other Ag investment firms spend 99% of their time evaluating dirt and physical infrastructure and little time evaluating the operator.
Not us. We don’t treat you like dirt.
We realize farmers create all the value in Ag
We’ll partner with an “A+” grower on “C-” dirt any day of the week. We’ll never do the opposite.
Farmers are the most under-appreciated asset in Ag
Tiverton invests alongside “best of breed” farmers to help them achieve their goals and aspirations and advance their legacy.
Our approach
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You’ve seen it a lot on our site.
Ag businesses are not just a collection of land assets. They are living, breathing, complex companies. You need a comprehensive understanding of market, sector and firm to maximize their P&L , balance sheet, team and value.
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Capital partners are aplenty.
The ones that thrive fix problems through bespoke solutions.
In Ag, it’s nearly impossible to fix a problem unless you’ve operated a farm.
We only invest in companies where our capital and operating expertise address a problem that, when solved, lead to growth and outperformance.
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Agronomy. Logistics. Soil science. Weather. Water. Inputs. H2A labor. Finances. Liquidity. Legal. Tax. Fertility. AI (not the computer type). Lactation cycles. Double cropping. Feed mixes. Irrigation. Water boards. Pumps. Family matters.
Being a grower is like being the CEO of a logistics, agronomy, weather and chemical company (to say the least).
Appreciate the difficulty in putting food on the table.
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Have a team that understands both definition of “bull pen” and that’s a good start.
Tiverton pulls together its internal and external resources to understand the ins and outs of every Ag business.
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We don’t know it all. And certainly don’t want to be a “know it all.”
Often the farmers and agribusinesses we deal with have forgotten more about their craft than we may learn in years.
We respect this.
It’s taken generations to build what you’ve built. We love taking your knowledge and combining it with ours to create a better outcome.
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Ag is a $4.3 trillion space.
There are more than enough opportunities to “grow the pie” with a farmer.
We focus on win-win capital solutions for both our borrowers and our equity partners.
It’s good business and works in Ag.
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Farming is really about risk mitigation.
In many ways, whether an equity or credit transaction, understanding structured finance and risk pricing is at the root of prudent Ag investment.
Farmers do it day-in and day-out.
When you understand and manage the risks in farming you set yourself up for long-term success.
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When risk is mitigated and Mother Nature and market conditions allow, you are able to best capture upside.
Further, we believe a vertically integrated approach can add material value to upstream operations.
Going from the farm gate to midstream businesses like packaging, processing, logistics and storage, to downstream businesses that are B2B or B2C facing are critical paths in maximizing returns.
