This study assesses two factors which could influence the competition for private land between agricultural crops and hybrid poplars in Canada: tax policy and investment portfolio diversification. I find differential treatment of trees for property tax purposes across provinces, but negligible differences with respect to income taxes. I also examine the use of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) - an alternative corporate tax structure for land ownership – in the context of tree and agricultural production that could confer tax benefits to farms with hybrid poplars. I find that existing rules, such as restrictions on foreign ownership of land and non-recognition of timber cutting contracts as rental income, pose significant barriers to farmland and timberland-based REITs. Lastly, I estimate a Capital Asset Pricing Model to compare the systematic risk added by farmland and timberland to a diversified portfolio. Both assets have zero betas indicating neither is favored on private land
