Veripath manages more than 90,000 acres of Canadian prairie farmland and has $200 million of assets under management and $400 million of private equity.
In fact, in 2021, Johnston estimates that Veripath captured 13,621 tons of carbon, the equivalent of 2,951 vehicles, with a $681,050 implied value.
“We have people reaching out to us and asking about it,” he said, noting that farmland also provides very consistent returns and is not correlated to traditional financial assets, so it’s a good portfolio diversifier, especially in volatile markets, and it provides a very good inflation hedge.
“But in addition, now, there’s this extra return that’s developing in Canada with the Canadian farmland portfolios.
Johnston said Canadian prairie farmers are world leaders in how much land they zero till and the fact they’ve been doing it for decades.
Now, besides the land appreciation and rents, the carbon credits will offer an extra source of return and Johnston estimated that could amount to another .5% in returns.