Guru-Inspired Picks from the Ripening Farming Industry

Profits in the agriculture industry are reaching all-time highs, and in his latest Forbes.com article, Validea CEO John Reese offers some ideas for how investors can profit from the surge.

“This year, the Department of Agriculture is forecasting record profits for the farming industry, with net farm income topping the $100 billion mark for the first time ever,” Reese writes. “The projected $103.6 billion in income would be a 24.5% increase over 2010, with big gains in feed crops and livestock production leading the way. Looking forward, the farming profit picture looks to continue to be a pretty good one. Soil erosion, potential shortages in resources used to make fertilizer, and rising demand from emerging market countries should keep agricultural products a hot commodity.”

Reese looks at five agriculture- or food-related stocks that get high marks from his “Guru Strategies”, each of which is based on the approach of a different investing great. Among them: AGCO Corp., a farming equipment maker that gets strong interest from Reese’s Peter Lynch-inspired model.