This Month
Saudis put Western Australia’s largest grain operation up for sale
Spread across a swath of the wheat belt, marketing of the $200 million property caps a busy 12 months for major agriculture transactions in the state.
- Larry Schlesinger
Climate body targets cattle barons on methane emissions
Some of the nation’s biggest pastoral companies generate enough greenhouse gas emissions to be counted as major polluters, says the Climate Change Authority.
- Jacob Greber
Farmland returns fall below 1pc as rate rises, weak beef prices bite
Over the 12 months to September, prime farmland delivered a total return of just 0.2 per cent as income distributions fell and capital values slid backwards.
- Larry Schlesinger
- Exclusive
- Rural property
Costa family backs $120m raising for Riverina almond project
Agricultural investor goFARM has acquired 1800ha of irrigated holdings near Griffith, including the 700ha Stephendale vineyard, which will make way for almonds.
- Larry Schlesinger
November
Lab-grown food may be the next great investment boom
It is no longer science fiction to envisage a day when half the world’s meat and dairy industry is displaced by food grown in vats.
- Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Select Harvests swings to $114m loss as almond volumes, prices fall
The agricultural company has promised a better 2024 in part due to higher global pricing as the US crop weakens.
- Michael Bleby
- Exclusive
- Rural property
Green Bank-backed fund snaps up $80m of NSW farms
Wilga Farming’s acquisitions total almost 14,000ha of NSW cropping and grazing farmland and include Burmah Station, bought from Macquarie’s Paraway Pastoral.
- Larry Schlesinger
GrainCorp to pay special dividend, buy back shares
Undaunted by the onset of El Nino, GrainCorp will pay a special dividend and buy back shares as it looks to Western Australia for a big agri-energy investment.
- Brad Thompson
Cattle market on the rebound after 70pc price plunge
A much welcome rain boon has halted the tumble in cattle and beef prices, but farmers still need to badly reduce their flocks and herds for a major improvement.
- Cecile Lefort
Newcastle eye surgeon buys beef farm owned by one family for 170 years
Peter Davies has added cattle property Riamukka to a pastoral portfolio that includes Queensland’s remote Kilcowera Station.
- Larry Schlesinger
John Kahlbetzer, from oil rigs to the Rich List, dies
German-born Kahlbetzer worked in the fossil fuel industry after arriving in Australia in his early 20s before his entrepreneurial flair built a vast fortune.
- Updated
- Brad Thompson
Smithbrook, Amadeus snapped up by agri fund manager Warakirri for $22m
The acquisition of the Amadeus Vineyard and the Smithbrook Estate follows Warakirri’s diversified fund buying the Josef Chromy Estate in Tasmania last year.
- Larry Schlesinger
How a bunch of new grapes has made this winery the one to watch
The move to less-mainstream, more climate-adapted varieties is all part of the owners’ plan to make the McLaren Vale winery Orbis as sustainable as possible.
- Max Allen
October
NT’s Broadmere Station sells to Vietnamese-backed hotel developer
Broadmere Station was offered for sale by the estate of the late cattle king Peter Sherwin and offers tourism and carbon potential.
- Larry Schlesinger
Now is the time for farmers to expand holdings
Real estate veteran Col Medway says ‘farmers will be kicking themselves in 12 months time’ if they don’t take advantage of a reduction in land values and stock prices.
- Larry Schlesinger
Chinese billionaire selling cattle station empire the size of Belgium
The 2.9m hectare portfolio of East Kimberley cattle stations is being offered by Chinese-Australian property developer Hui Wing Mau.
- Larry Schlesinger
Farmland returns fall to eight-year low as El Nino hits
A $2 billion portfolio of prime farmland managed by some of the country’s leading asset managers delivered just a 2 per cent total return in 12 months.
- Larry Schlesinger
September
‘Farmers are spooked’: Why no one wants to buy sheep
Livestock prices are crashing as supply and demand dynamics pull the rug out from under the industry. And there could be more pain to come.
- Brad Thompson
Rural branch closures stir up deep emotions about the role of banks
Smithton, a small town in Tasmania, produces $840m of commodities a year. But as cash dwindles, it has lost its CBA and ANZ branches. The mayor wants answers.
- James Eyers
GrainCorp boss has no fear of El Nino as farmers count down to harvest
GrainCorp boss Robert Spurway says the company can’t control the weather but is ready to respond to whatever comes its way.
- Brad Thompson
