Grainswest - Spring 2026

Spring 2026 grainswest.com 35 or other things we can put in place that make it easier or show some kind of preference of family ownership of farms?” WHAT DO INVESTORS SAY? From a successful career as a commercial real estate developer in Winnipeg, MB, Robert Andjelic now works primarily through farmland investment. He owns more than 250,000 acres, primarily in Saskatchewan with small parcels in B.C., Alberta and Manitoba. He doesn’t mind the criticism faced by investors. He knows he offers a fair deal to farmers. “We rent it at half what it would cost to buy it,” he said. Andjelic suggested certain critics don’t appreciate that he shoulders all the risk the purchase of land entails. “They don’t have to lay out the capital,” he said. “It’s capital intensive enough with the inputs and equipment let alone the land. Farmers come to us to rent. I’m being pushed to acquire land by the tenants. The reality is quite a bit different than the coffee shop talk that occurs.” Several very large farms rent land from him. Recently, a farmer asked him to buy a 5,000-acre block near his existing farm, while he would buy an accompanying 1,000, and farm it all. It made sense, so Andjelic agreed. “There’s a reason tenants come to me. It’s not my looks,” he said. He also claimed he cannot compete with farmers because of the return he would need on the land itself, and he and other investors own a fraction of Saskatchewan’s total land base. “The pure investors like myself constitute about two to three per cent of the total land,” he said. “It’s peanuts, it’s nothing. Don’t tell me two to three per cent moves any market. I can’t compete against the producers.” Andjelic, believe it or not, insists money is not the primary factor for his farmland investment habit. He wants farmers who will take care of the land. If the land is mistreated, nobody makes money. His field co-ordinators check properties to ensure proper rotations and farming practices are followed. “If they don’t adhere to the best farming practices, we won't renew their lease because we don’t care how much rent he pays, that’s not the bottom line,” he said. “The bottom line is doing the right thing for the land. Otherwise, there won’t be anything for anybody. We’re only as good as the land.” It’s not just Andjelic who has taken notice of farmland’s potential for long-term stable ROI. Avenue Living, whose primary business is residential condo towers in Alberta and Saskatchewan, has snatched up more than 50,000 acres of Saskatchewan farmland. In Quebec, Bonnefield holds 134,000 acres between B.C. and Nova Scotia that totals more than $1 billion in assets under management. Area One Farms (AOF) takes a very different approach to farmland investment. Based in Toronto, ON, and founded by dairy farm kid Joelle Faulkner, the company ultimately wants farmers to own the land. Launched in 2012, it now works with 55 farmers across 200,000 acres, the majority in Western Canada. AOF buys land in partnership, as co-owners, with farmers. On land the farmer finds, AOF offers two options: a crop share or a full farm partnership. The former sees farmers earn crop revenue minus crop-share rent and operating expenses as the tenant and earn appreciation on their ownership share of the new land. Land taxes and a portion of the crop insurance is paid jointly. As a full farm partnership, AOF and the farmer own land, machinery and infrastructure together. The farmer earns 15 per cent net income and 10 to 15 per cent of the whole farm’s appreciation. The farmer also earns income and appreciation from their ownership share in the joint venture. “If the farm makes $100, whether income or appreciation, the farmer gets $15 because they’re running it,” said Faulkner. “If they own 20 per cent, they get 20 per cent of the remaining $85. That means $32 instead of $20. That’s on income; but everyone expects that because they’re doing more work, but it’s also on appreciation.” Unlike other investors, AOF intends the farmer will buy the land after a time. “Farmers should own farmland,” said Faulkner. “The further you get from farmers owning the land the less secure farming becomes.” She said at the time of buyout (Year 10) a farmer typically purchases about half the available land, and the rest is usually bought by neighbours. AOF’s approach isn’t typical of investors; the goal isn’t permanent landlordship. “The solution we provide is valuable to farmers, so it doesn’t have to be that I hate the other approaches. I just think it’s better to be on this side and be the good guy,” said Faulkner. She is keenly aware farmers approach AOF as a last resort. “If you could do this with debt, you wouldn’t come to us,” said Faulkner. Clients may be young farmers whose first attempt to launch a farm didn’t pan out, or farm families whose “The pure investors like myself constitute about two to three per cent of the total land, It’s peanuts, it’s nothing. Don’t tell me two to three per cent moves any market. I can’t compete against the producers.” —Robert Andjelic