GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Red River Land Company — one of the pioneering agricultural real estate brokerage and management companies in the Red River Valley — is under new ownership.
Chris Griffin, a native of Larimore, N.D., has purchased RRLC and will serve as its president, the company announced on Oct. 7, 2020. Griffin succeeds founder John V. Botsford who joined his father’s company, Botsford & Rice, in 1977, and guided it through transitions. Botsford will continue working for RRLC as vice president.
RRLC specializes in brokering agricultural properties in North Dakota and Minnesota. He also pioneered the formation of the first cooperative shares marketplace in the Midwest, and is a leader in brokering shares of American Crystal Sugar Co.
Griffin, 40, a licensed attorney, has worked with Botsford for the last nine years and is actively involved in his family’s farm near McCanna, N.D. As a licensed real estate agent in North Dakota and Minnesota, Griffin has worked in land sales, beet stock sales and farm management services under Botsford’s leadership.
After 43 years, Botsford said it is time for a transition for the benefit of the clients, but said he plans to continue working with the company for “years to come.” Botsford emphasized Griffin’s legal background and his understanding of agriculture from the “ground up” and said the sale is intended to ensure the company continues as a “trusted resource” in the agricultural industry.
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In the same announcement, Griffin announced hiring Grand Forks native Nick Skjerven as a broker. Skjerven has over 11 years of banking experience, including seven years as an agricultural banker with Bremer Bank in Grand Forks.
