While much attention of late has been on support for local, and organic farming, and on ending forms of farm subsidies in the United States, the agriculture business is a permanent part of our economy. With a steady population shift away from subsistence farming toward urban living worldwide, and consistent worldwide population growth, efficient food production is essential, and investors can do well. In this article, I examine 5 stocks that I believe to be long term buy ideas in the agriculture space.

Cresud, Inc. (CRESY)

Cresud, Inc. is listed on NASDAQ, and recently traded at about $11.25, near the low end of its 52 week range of from $20.00 to $9.55. CRESY has a market capitalization of about $560 million, a trailing P/E ratio of 13, and pays an annual dividend of $0.33 for a yield of 2.9%.

CRESY operates farms in South America, with a focus on Argentina. It also has acquired majority interests in a variety of publicly traded Argentinian and Brazilian companies. Most of these tend to be involved in real estate development, and combined, contribute a generous amount of CRESY’s profits and book value.

Because of the diversity of real estate and agribusiness in CRESY’s control, it has been able to maintain profitability despite historical drought conditions in Argentina in 2008 and 2009. The nation of Argentina is also enjoying tremendous growth, and the government is committed to infrastructure. CRESY is a great play on future growth in Argentina.To continue reading, click here