“Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness .. .”
When Longfellow wrote those words, he spoke of the void between people, but he could have referred to the distance between agricultural entrepreneurs and investors.
AgriVest Capital Corp. hopes to bridge that distance.
Tim Harvie, a director of the new company, said AgriVest’s president, Cam Crawford, summed it up best.
“He put it in a nutshell: There is lots of money in this province and in the West here. And there is lots of agricultural opportunity.
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“But there is no one putting the two together in helping finance and getting the capital in place to take advantage of these opportunities,” Harvie said.
The idea for AgriVest was conceived in 1995 by Crawford, a certified management consultant who owns and is managing partner in Coakwell Moore Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants based in High River, Alta.
“He started to talk to people, friends and business associates, and started to pull the group together. That’s how the board of directors came together,” said David Laycraft, AgriVest manager.
Don Alberts, a farmer, feedlot owner and motel manager in Brooks, Alta., joined the board because he thinks the company is needed now that the end of grain transportation subsidies has opened a new door for prairie agriculture.
“There is an opportunity to get in and make investments to try to capture the changes. We’ve already seen the hog marketing boards in Manitoba and Alberta go by the wayside and we see government less and less involved … .
“The general landscape in 20 to 25 years is going to be changed by the value-added that we do in the next few years and I want to be a part of that.”
Start-up funding put together
Last summer, the group raised $1.2 million in seed money from friends and business associates.
Although only in its infancy, it has already received international investment proposals, as well as some from Canada.
“For 1997 we have a two-pronged attack. We are actively analyzing several opportunities and we plan on making our first investment probably in the next couple of months,” Laycraft said.
“Also, later in ’97 we plan on beginning a second round of financing for our own company.”
The investment proposals have included large livestock operations, food processing and computer software development and have come from six provinces, the United States and Europe.
AgriVest will stand apart from other venture capital companies in Canada, Laycraft said.
“One reason, I think, is that they don’t understand the (agriculture) industry and don’t realize it is much bigger than just grain farming and livestock farming,” he said.
“Also they have been afraid of the low returns that have been shown with some of the companies.”
AgriVest sees itself developing relationships with other investment companies, providing the expertise to assess the viability of agribusiness opportunities.
AgriVest will also be a resource for the companies it invests in. Often, it will want a seat at the board table, not to interfere in day-to-day operations, but to help with long-term direction.
“The present board of directors represents a significant pool of management expertise,” said Dave Plett, an AgriVest director and the president and CEO of Western Feedlots, Canada largest custom cattle feedlot located in High River.
“In addition to the capital that will be utilized, of greater importance will be the monitoring and managing. I think that is where AgriVest’s greatest potential is.”
Laycraft said AgriVest’s goal is to go public and list on a stock exchange. By doing so, it will get access to far more investment money.
“There is a lot of capital out there with the proliferation of RRSPs and mutual funds and people saving for their retirement. Fund managers are looking for new places to park this money and to diversify their fund.
“So we feel there is a renewed interest in agriculture, but there is a lack of expertise (that AgriVest can provide).”
AgriVest will also have a livestock management company.
People who report their taxable farm income on a cash basis can enjoy some tax benefits by purchasing livestock. However, many people do not want to look after them nor do they have the knowledge or inclination to properly manage the investment.
For a fee, AgriVest Livestock Management Inc. will serve the client by purchasing livestock on his behalf and looking after feeding, risk management, marketing assessment and financing needs.
