By Lynda Kiernan

Hancock Agricultural Investment Group (HAIG) acquired 990.7 acres in Manatee County, Florida from tomato grower, Grainger Farms on April 14 for a purchase price of $6.8 million.

Sandy Branch Ranch, a company managed by Grainger Farms president, James Grainger, bought the land in 2002 for $1.39 million, giving Grainer Farms a quadrupling of return on its original investment.

HAIG is a unit of Hancock Natural Resources Group, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canada-based Manulife Financial Corp. The group manages a portfolio of agricultural real estate worth $2.2 billion on behalf of institutional investors, both public and private. Its assets under management include 230,000 acres of farmland across the U.S., New South Wales and Queensland Australia, and Quebec, Canada.

The purchase follows closely upon Gladstone Land’s recent purchase of 808 acres of organic strawberry land in the state for $13.8 million, and its subsequent purchase of 417 acres of adjacent land for $3.21 million in March. The operator of the two properties, Wish Farms, has signed a long term lease to continue on the site.

 

 

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