March 17, 2023

By Michelle Pelletier Marshall, Global AgInvesting Media

Today, an estimated $26 billion of United States farmland is owned or managed by institutions, with institutional investments ranging between US$28-$35 billion. And, as HighQuest Consulting’s Philippe de Lapérouse explained in his “Ag Sectors to Watch” article in GAI News, given that the estimated size of the “investable” universe of farmland globally is US$1 trillion, less than 3.5 percent of the investable universe is owned by financial investors. “We are clearly still in the early stages of the financialization of the farmland asset class,” said Lapérouse.

But how to invest, where to invest, and what to invest in remains less than clear. Discerning investors know to head to Global AgInvesting (GAI) events for spot-on insight and exposure to opportunities in the ag sector and surrounding themes. This year’s flagship event, which will be held in New York City, April 3-5 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, will feature intel on the possibilities for portfolio diversification on topics such as ESG strategies, agtech innovations, private equity plays, and farmland acquisition across multiple geographies. 

Here’s a view inside the agenda (see the full agenda here). 

PRESENTATION: Farmland’s Inflation Hedging Characteristics

Senior Agricultural Economist Weiyi Zhang from Manulife Investment Management will provide a comprehensive analysis of how different crop types respond in an inflationary environment. In his role at Manulife Investment Management, Zhang is directly involved in farmland transactional due diligence and initiating new investment strategies and concepts. He also leads the global agricultural economic, financial, and statistical analytical efforts, including commodity price forecasting and portfolio analysis. Get a feel for Zhang’s research in these GAI News contributed stories by Zhang: Navigating Rising Inflation and Interest Rates with Agricultural Investments and Inflation, Interest Rates, and Recession Risk: Farmland’s Resilience in the Face of Uncertainty

PRESENTATION: Optimal Natural Capital Allocations in Today’s Institutional Portfolio

For this presentation, GAI welcomes Gwen Busby, head of research & strategy for Nuveen Natural Capital. Busby focuses on analysis of the natural capital market and specializes in econometric and stochastic modeling for Nuveen. Research work from her previous academic engagements appeared in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international environmental and natural resource economics conferences.

DISCUSSION: Institutional Investor Perspectives on Agriculture Private Equity

In this lively discussion, Robert Appleby, founder and chief investment officer of Cibus Capital LLP, and Rich Matheson CRE, senior portfolio manager for Utah Retirement Systems, will highlight the pros and cons of agriculture private equity investments. 

Appleby’s years of managing investments in emerging and developed economies, as well as experience with Lehman Brothers working in fixed income sales and trading in London and New York, will provide many real-life examples that lead to actionable insight. Matheson’s experience as a member of the Salt Lake City land-based asset team will give a view into strategy development, acquisitions, and portfolio and asset management for the agriculture and timber portfolios. Matheson also helped build URS’ agriculture allocation from the ground up, including permanent crops, row crops, and water investments in a variety of structures such as direct investments, joint ventures, managed accounts, co-investments, and funds.

PRESENTATION: Standardizing Sustainability in Farmland

In its groundbreaking move, Leading Harvest, a non-profit organization consisting of stakeholders across the agricultural value chain – companies that farm, own, and/or manage farmland – and two environmental groups together created a non-profit entity providing the first scalable, industry-wide universal sustainability standard that can be applied across all crops and geographies to address issues from climate change to biodiversity, and the resilience of cropland and communities. Who better than to lead this presentation than Leading Harvest President and CEO Kenny Fahey? Under Kenny’s leadership of the sustainability program and team, Leading Harvest has expanded its footprint across over a million acres of U.S. farmland. Read more about the launch of the sustainability program in this GAI News story.

More than 800 industry stakeholders are expected at the 15th annual Global AgInvesting flagship event in New York City for three days of exceptional content and myriad opportunities to network and connect with those in the sector. Meet the end investor, foundation, family office, or limited partner that could change the trajectory of your path in ag investing. More at globalaginvesting.com.

– Michelle Pelletier Marshall is contributing editor and author for HighQuest Partners’ GAI News and Unconventional Ag, and managing editor for its WIA Today blog. Additionally, she is the company’s Senior PR/Media Manager. She can be reached at marshall@highquestpartners.com.