Sydney-based New Forests, which manages an $8.7 billion portfolio of mainly forestry and conservation assets, has turned to the mainstream agricultural sector as the driver of future growth after bedding down its $600 million acquisition of Lawson Grains from Macquarie earlier this year.

The 90,000-hectare cropping portfolio, which New Forests secured with funding from Canadian investment giant AIMCo, is the seed asset for New Agriculture, a business division to be led by Bruce King, the former chief executive of the federal government’s Regional Investment Corporation.