He is probably leasing it to local farmers. Most farmers only own a portion of their land. I know of a few farmers who inherited land and got the courts to transfer that inheritance to the grandkids , but (living far away) because they didn't want to have more land in the farm even though they have been farming it for years. (this is also a transfer of wealth to the kids, but your accountant will explain in detail why is is bad to own too much land even if you have no kids)