Land, greenhouses, equipment, goodwill and inventory paid for or irrevocably committed count, as do start-up leases and working capital placed in the business. Consular fees, legal fees, moving costs and a personal residence do not, and neither does a loan secured only on the nursery's own assets.
Investment is what the business receives, not what the move costs
Hypothetical example: a Haldimand County grower totals every dollar of her U.S. move and calls it the investment. The consular calculation is narrower.
Counted: the purchase price actually paid for the nursery's assets or shares, plant stock and seasonal inventory bought for resale, equipment, deposits on greenhouse structures, the first months of lease and payroll committed, and operating cash transferred into the business account. Not counted: the visa application fee and any reciprocity fee, legal and accounting fees, the moving truck, a house or vehicle for the family, and living expenses. A bank loan secured on the nursery's land does not count as her capital, while a line of credit secured on her remaining Canadian property does.
Keep two spreadsheets, one for the investment and one for the relocation budget, and support the first with invoices and wire records. Check the current consular fees on the State Department pages rather than relying on figures from an earlier application.