The Rural Voice, 1978-10, Page 9403 -Farms and Land
Wanted ft Buy
URGENTLY NEEDED
100-1,000 acres for out of town
cash buyer, with or without build-
ings, owner will lease back . Rich-
ard Schwarz 133.6622, 438-4260. CA-
NADA PERMANENT TRUST,
REALTOR.
Some farmers concerned
ti
As absentee land ,ownership rises
by Adrian Vos
Advertisements like this are seen in the classified sections of
Ontario newpapers. Thousands of acres of farm land are sold to
"out -of town cash buyers" who have no intentions of farming them
selves. The Huron County Federation of Agriculture has become
so alarmed, that they have asked their parent body, the Ontario
Federation of Agriculutre (OFA) to investigate the phenomenon
and report on it at its upcoming annual convention in November.
Many farmers with expansion plans in mind, farmers who
want to make room for their children, claim that these investors
drive up the price of land until it is out of reach of the young
farmer.
When Rural Voice called Canada Permanent Trust, in
London, Richard Schwartz, the trust realtor, told us he was
assembling land for a European investor group. It didn't matter
in which county, as long as the land parcels are not too small,
Mr. Schwartz said.
Canada Trust's ad, reprinted at the beginning of this story,
was not completely clear, Mr. Schwartz said, for the owner will
lease back "if the seller so wishes." This is to make it possible
for someone who wants to retire on his farm, to do so. Mr.
Schwartz expected to have accumulated enough land in five to
ten years to interest a processor (he mentioned Green Giant as
an example) to lease the land from the investor group.
Land Transfer Act
Ontario has no laws prohibiting the owning of real estate, by
non-residents. However, the Land Transfer Act of 1974, set a
tax of 20 per cent on land purchases by non-residents. But the
non-resident who simply registers on Ontario corporation, and
buys land through that corporation, pays no tax.
While many farmers are worried by increasing land acreage
being owned by foreign investors, depopulation and the
subsequent death of small towns are as much a problem with
other absentee corporate farm land owners. The probable
increase in food prices through high land cost and co.rporate
concentration should be of concern to farmer and consumer
alike_ _ _ _ __
"How can anyone make a profit, if you have to pay up to
$1,000 per acre for land?" exclaims Wm. (Bill) Mann, President
of the Grey Township Federation. His opinion is echoed closely
by Lyle Pettapiece, his neighbour who wants to buy a farm for his
son, presently farming with his father who can't see how the
young man can make a living if he has to pay the current high
price.
In neighbouring Howick township. about a thousand acres
have been bought since 1975 by Hanover Farms Ltd., a
registered Ontario corporation. Through legal tangles, caused by
questions of eligibility for less than the 20 per cent land transfer
tax, the firm was not incorporated until 1977. Dieter Steinkraus,
lawyer and a company director. has offices in Kitchener. The
principal is Rolf Tricke, a landed immigrant since 1977, and a
citizen of West Germany. The land is leased back or managed by
Ontario residents.
John Stafford. deputy reeve of Howick, is not concerned about
absentee ownership of large blocks of land. There could be a
problem in the future, he says, if expansion of non-resident
ownership continues. Then, a resident may find it difficult to
expand. He offers the possibility that a group of prospective
immigrants to Canada could begin buying land now, before_
becoming residents, and when enough land is assembled for all of
them, they may come here as regular landed immigrants. He
says that up to now there hasn't been any non-resident buying of
land in one block. but a check at the provincial registry office
reveals that H an over Farms Ltd. now owns lots 18, 19 and 20 on
Concession 11, and lots 17 through 21 on Concession 12.
Ashfield township also hosts a corporation with large land
holdings. Hallowen Farms Ltd. has been in the area for a long
time and is still adding to considerable holdings on concessions
3,4,6 and 7. Involved are, besides the farmers who' sold land:
Manfred Tekal in trust, Hugh Allen in trust, who is also
registered in Toronto as general manager, Multifoods Ltd. and
Lesco Machinery Ltd. Lesco sold its holdings for one dollar to
Hallowen Farms Ltd. in 1972.
Farm Corporations
The president of the Ashfield Federation of Agriculture, Derk
Logtenberg leases his farm from Hallowen and is virtually
surrounded by corporation owned farms. But he doesn't think
DIE RURAL VOICE/UMBER 1978 PG. -69-