Add A Hunting Business To Your Farm or Ranch (Without the Headaches) with Nic De Castro of LandTrust

Why It Matters

LandTrust turns underutilized private land into a scalable income stream for farms and ranches while meeting rising consumer demand for outdoor recreation, using tech and AI to reduce costs and friction. The model could materially diversify rural revenue for multi‑generation operations and accelerate monetization of recreational land assets.

Summary

LandTrust, founded by Nick De Castro, operates an online marketplace that connects landowners—primarily farmers and ranchers—with hunters and outdoor recreation seekers, functioning like an Airbnb for access rather than lodging. The platform emphasizes trust-building with landowning families through request-based bookings, ID verification, property mapping, liability coverage and a revenue-share model with no upfront listing fees. LandTrust says it has hosted thousands of trips over six-plus years without incidents, grew organically via owner referrals, posted its biggest year last year and shrank headcount from 22 to seven by adopting AI across operations. The company tailors listings by activity (e.g., turkey, pig, fishing), pricing and lodging options while keeping control with landowners who approve each booking.

Original Description

LandTrust: https://landtrust.com/

LandTrust is an online platform that connects landowners to people looking for outdoor recreation like hunting, fishing or camping. Think AirBNB for hunters. For most of you, that is probably not a novel concept in 2026, but the concept isn’t the story here - at least not to me. The story is how Nic and his team are pulling it off. How they are building trust with farmers, ranchers and other landowners. And how they are using technology to create real value and solve real problems on both sides of this two-sided marketplace.

Some background on Nic before we dive in: Nic De Castro is the founder and CEO of LandTrust, a marketplace that connects landowners with sportsmen seeking outdoor recreation opportunities like hunting, fishing, and camping on private land. Since founding LandTrust in 2019, Nic has focused on helping farmers and ranchers unlock new income streams while expanding access to the outdoors. Prior to starting LandTrust, Nic worked in technology and entrepreneurship, and he now writes and speaks about the intersection of agriculture, land stewardship, and the growing outdoor recreation economy. He lives in the Southeast and spends as much time as possible hunting, fishing, and exploring rural America.

Don’t let the name fool you here, this has nothing to do with land trusts like people putting land into trusts. It really is just the simple concept of needing to build trust between landowners and people enjoying that land. Nic will explain a lot more about that.