By Richard Kamchen
April 19, 2022
Excerpt from article:
Farmland’s reputation as a safe and profitable asset seems sure to draw more investment dollars into rural Canada, whether farmers are happy about the extra demand for their number one source of wealth or not.
A look at Calgary-based investment fund Veripath Farmland Partners and its 90,000-acre row crop portfolio shows why. Farmland is just too secure to ignore, says Veripath managing partner Stephen Johnston. As farmers know, decades of historical data show consistent returns, few down years and low volatility.
Also key is that farmland, in a trader’s world that is so buffeted by global headlines, is so incredibly independent. Most other investments get sideswiped by the jolts in stock and bond markets. But not farmland.
So, although there still aren’t that many non-farm investors looking at Canadian farmland, that’s bound to change, Johnston says. “All those characteristics are going to attract interest,” he says. “They just will. It (farmland) is very unique compared to all the other things you might invest in.