Farms In The U.S With The LARGEST Acreage..

With much of America being covered in farmland, have you ever wondered about the people who own all this land, whether you're a farmer yourself or just interested in who owns much of America's land? Then stick around to find out all about these families and their properties. Today, we'll be covering 8 families and businesses who own much of America's landmass. Combined, the land owned by these 8 families is nearly a million acres in total, with many of these families owning over 100,000 acres of land. It may be hard to visualize how much property they control. For reference, one acre is roughly the size of a football field, as you can tell. These are massive chunks of land dedicated to farming, and you've probably consumed food grown on many of these farms yourself. Without further ado, here are the 8 largest farmland properties in all of America. First up, we have land owned by the Simplet family. Starting off our list at 82,500 farmland acres, we have the property owned by the Simplet family. This empire was begun in the 20th century by Jack Simplet, who was born in 1909 and passed away in 2008. His farming business truly picked up in 1967, when he struck a deal with the top fast-food chain in the world, McDonald's. He made a deal with then-CEO Ray Kroc to provide the company with frozen french fries, while the J.R. Simplet Company was already providing a good chunk of McDonald's potatoes. With this deal, they began providing the vast majority of the company's spuds. At this point, Simplet's heirs run an agricultural empire worth over $2.5 billion. They have expanded beyond simple potato farming, working in cattle production, food processing, and phosphate mining, just to name a few of their pursuits. While the Simplet family owns nearly half a million acres of land, only 82,500 of them are dedicated to farming. These farms produce hay, corn, sweet corn, wheat, and barley. Don't think they've given up on the crop that made them their fortune in the first place either. They still produce potatoes and lots of them. Something to note about the Simplet story, that runs through many of the other families we'll be covering today, is how these massive empires stemmed from the hard work of one single person. It goes to show that dedication to something as ordinary as farming can lead to truly extraordinary results if you stay committed. Next on our list is Larson Farms. Another farmer who made it big from potatoes is Blaine Larson, who now owns 87,000 acres of farmland. Larson Farms have provided potatoes for a wide variety of companies, from Green Giant to Pringles. Blaine was inspired to make it big, when he This motivated him to prove this speaker wrong. He would soon buy 80 acres of Idaho land at only $30 an acre, while the land was covered in sagebrush. When he dug down to the soil, he found amazingly fertile soil, perfect for potatoes. This led to his operation growing exponentially, with him now having over 1,000 times the land he owned upon his first purchase. His business has grown so much that it now earns more than $400 million a year. Not bad at all for an investment of only $2,400. Blaine is far from finished as well. He still runs Larson Farms to this day, alongside his brother and sons. His brother Richard focuses on the alfalfa hay business instead of potatoes, and the company has operations in both Idaho and Texas. Larson Farms grows, stores, processes, and even delivers its product, which Blaine Larson himself describes as the best potato in the world. Up next is the land owned by the Scully family. Coming up next is the Scully family, who have just over 100,000 acres to their name. It all began in the mid-1800s, when William Scully decided to take the risk of buying up property in Chicago. While he was based out of Ireland, he began leasing this land to Tenant Farms, which ended up earning him unbelievable wealth. This business led to him owning a vast swath of farmland in America. By the time the 20th century came around, Scully owned nearly a quarter million acres, and to this day, his heirs own over 100,000 of those. The fact that much of land stayed within his family is a testament to Scully as a businessman and the similar acuity of his descendants. The Scully family's legacy is that of building a unique farmland empire and helping those who couldn't afford their own property the chance to keep farming and producing food. This is the only entry on our list where the owner of the land wasn't the one directly overseeing the farming and was instead simply renting out his land in many ways. Scully was more of a real estate mogul than a farm manager, and his success speaks to his ability in seeing gap in the market. Regardless, it's clear Scully was an astute businessman. Next up is the land owned by Galen Lawrence Jr. Galen Lawrence Jr. is the head of the Lawrence Group, which was founded by his father. Lawrence Jr. now owns and operates 115,000 acres of farmland. While the Lawrence Group operates many different businesses, from banks to real estate, they still control a large amount of farmland. They grow everything from citrus and corn to wine grapes and soybeans. They own properties in some of the most high-value farming locations in all of America. From plots in California's Napa Valley to massive citrus farms in Florida, one of their largest plots of land is in Arkansas, where the Lawrence Group bought $110 million worth of land in 2010. The land was originally owned by the Lee Wilson Company, which was known for the growth and processing of tons of cotton. In a single purchase, the Lawrence Group bought thousands of acres from the Wilson heirs. As a result of this purchase, alongside several others, Lawrence Jr. is the Next on our list is the Boswell family's land. Coming up next is the 150,000-acre empire, started by James Boswell II in the 20th century. Many refer to Boswell as the King of California for how much land he owned in the state. At only 29 years of age, Boswell would receive 50,000 acres from his uncle and namesake. He would proceed to grow this empire over the next 50 years, eventually tripling these already massive holdings. His strategy was maximizing the land's utility through irrigation, which was not something commonly done in California before him. In many ways, he fully revolutionized agriculture in California and America as a whole. During this process, he also produced more cotton than nearly anybody else in American history. To this day, Boswell farms produce tons of cotton every year, which is used for many high-end fashion brands. Boswell also formed the J.G. Boswell Tomato Company, which grows and processes some of the highest quality tomatoes in all of North America. Coming up next at number 3 is the Fanjul family's land. Slightly edging out Boswell with 152,000 acres are the Fanjul family. Their story begins in the mid-19th century, when the Fanjuls began growing sugar in their homeland of Cuba. In the 20th century, when Fidel Castro took over, the Fanjuls lost everything their family had worked for. They relocated to Florida, where they began trying to rebuild their empire. This led to Alfonso and Pepe Fanjul forming the Florida Crystals Corporation. The family now owns over 152,000 acres, which process over 5 million tons of sugarcane a year. This produces well over half a million tons of raw sugar and 30 million gallons of molasses on top of their agricultural pursuits. The family also runs the largest biomass power plant in all of North America. The Fanjuls are a true American success story and are a testament to what can be achieved through hard work and dedication. Up next at number 2 is the The next potato-based farm on our list, the O'Foot family owns 190,000 acres of farmland. It all began in 1964 when R.D. O'Foot Farms started as a humble potato farming operation based out of North Dakota. The company would grow massively over the next 50 years to achieve the status they now enjoy as one of the largest owners of farmland in all of America. They are currently actively involved with both North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota to develop the most eco-friendly agricultural practices possible while still producing quality crops. Even with all the land they own, the O'Foots also operate R.D.O. Equipment. This is a business that sells and repairs equipment for everything from agriculture to irrigation. The brands R.D.O. provides include John Deere, Topcon, and Vermeer. Finally at number 1 is the land owned by Stuart and Linda Resnick. Topping out our list is all the land owned by Stuart and Linda Resnick, which matches the O'Foots at 190,000 acres. Stuart Resnick is known as more than just a farmer, and instead is something of a renaissance man when it comes to owning and operating businesses. He's run alarm services, janitorial services, and ran brands like Franklin Mint and Teleflora. However, there's not much he's done that's as impressive as his pursuits in agriculture. He purchased 2,500 acres of orange and lemon farms in the 70s for bargain prices. He began to grow his empire from there, purchasing land from businesses like Mobile and Prudential Life. Ultimately, his business Wonderful Company grew to a $4 billion enterprise. They produce everything from Wonderful Halo's mandarins, Wonderful Almonds, and Wonderful Pistachios. Some of their most iconic brands include Palm Pomegranate Juice, as well as Fiji Water. From his initial purchase of 2,500 acres to his current holdings of 190,000, this marks a 76-time increase in land holdings from the 70s. Not bad at all. Were you aware of any of these landowners and their wild success stories? Can you believe all these people own so much land? Do you own any land yourself? If so, how much? Do you hope your family has as much as the O'Foots or the Resnicks one day? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Don't forget to like and subscribe as well. Thanks for watching, and as always, we'll see you next time.