Press Play with Madeleine Brand
California's Hottest Winemaker: Harvard?
Harvard University has been quietly snapping up swaths of farmland along California's central coast, turning the school into one of the top -- and most unlikely -- wine producers in the region. And Harvard's not alone in picking up thousands of acres of California farmland.
By Madeleine Brand • • 1 min readHarvard University has been quietly snapping up swaths of farmland along California's central coast, turning the school into one of the top -- and most unlikely -- wine producers in the region. And Harvard's not alone in picking up thousands of acres of California farmland. Investment banks, pension funds, and insurance companies have all become some of the biggest farmers in the state. Turns out farmland is a stable and lucrative investment for those with a lot of money to spend. Not even the historic drought has put a damper on the farm fever. How did this come about, and what does it mean for the future of California's farm industry?
Madeleine Brand
Host, 'Press Play'
Andrew Walsh
Too Beautiful to Live
Christian Bordal
Managing Producer, Greater LA
Matt Holzman
Producer, 'The Document'
Tom Philpott
food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, author of “Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It”