Russia’s war against Ukraine boosted Ontario’s agricultural land fund returns
AgInvest’s fourth fund, AGinvest Farmland 3 Inc., opened in January 2022 and can accept up to 49 investors. Willmore said it is a good option for advisors who are accredited investors because it has low volatility and great returns. The company buys premium Ontario farmland, then optimizes its soil and land with things like improving drainage and removing unnecessary buildings, then signs grower agreements with farmers.
Many farmers are small, but they need $25-30 million to start, so they can start replacing the farmer, now at an average age of 57, when they retire.
“Since we are a capital partner, we have a lot of young farmers partnering with us,” Wilmore said. “Three or four of our 25 farmer families are in their twenties.”
Wilmore noted that increasing agricultural land is important because the world will need to produce more food before 2050 than in the history of mankind. That means developing more productivity per acre, and AGInvest is improving how that’s doing.
Wilmore is also optimistic about the Ontario farm he is buying from Windsor to Ottawa – except for the Greater Toronto area due to speculation – because, even though it is the best in the world, climate change is also making its climate warmer, wetter. has been, more productive.
