The Fresno Bee has been tracking agriculture land sales across the region starting with some October sales, using a proprietary AI tool called AGRI, with Bee journalists reporting and writing the stories.<\/p>\n
The farmland tracked is within the Williamson Act, a state classification that provides tax breaks to landowners who agree to keep their land in farming or as open space for 10 years. The land can be sold, but the new owner is bound by its terms.<\/p>\n
Here are the biggest and most interesting deals covered so far \u2014 from a $28.9 million land purchase to a farmer buying acreage just for its water rights. Live links to full stories below<\/p>\n
Almonds rain down as a tree shaker works an orchard during a recent fall nut harvest. Mechanization in agriculture as well as manufacturing are credited in a December 2022 report by the University of North Carolina for improvements in worker productivity in Fresno County and neighboring counties. JOHN WALKER Fresno Bee file <\/p>\n
\u2022 Million-dollar farms are selling in Fresno County, despite challenges:<\/a> In late 2025, The Bee first tracked 16 sales. The biggest sale: the 628-acre Burford Ranch near Kerman for $7.5 million. Next: 135 acres in southwest Fresno County for $3.7 million.<\/p>\n \u2022 Almond company and investors drive $46M+ in sales<\/a>: Red Hawk Farms I LLC of Yuba City bought more than 1,000 acres in southwest Fresno County for $28.9 million across four parcels. Fresno-based almond grower Verve Greens Inc. expanded with a $10 million purchase of 636 acres near Five Points from the Borba family.<\/p>\n \u2022 West Fresno County parcels sell for $14.5M<\/a>: Five properties totaling more than 1,000 acres sold, with the largest deal involving 550 acres along Interstate 5 for $5.2 million to Coleman Land Co. LLC.<\/p>\n \u2022 Dairy invests $10.8M in 7,136 acres:<\/a> G&A Dairy owners Gerrit and Adrianna Roeloffs purchased 26 parcels in west Fresno County, the largest single acquisition by acreage tracked this year.<\/p>\n \u2022 Ag investment firm sells almond ranch for $2.5M<\/a>: Newport Beach-based Central Valley Ag Partners sold a 152-acre almond ranch to family-owned Russell Avenue Ranch LLC.<\/p>\n \u2022 Farmer buys 321 acres for water, not crops<\/a>: Michael Vander Dussen paid $1.4 million for land west of Raisin City, motivated by water rights as sustainable groundwater rules take effect. Land values in parts of Fresno County have dropped from $15,000-$20,000 per acre to about $4,500.<\/p>\n This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media\u2019s AI policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 2:24 PM.<\/p>\n