The agricultural investment arm of the Utah-based Mormon Church is extending its footprint in Australian farmland, acquiring a cropping aggregation in central western NSW for $38 million.

The purchase from ASX-listed Duxton Farms this month is the latest in a series of big moves by Alkira Farms, a subsidiary of Farmland Reserve, which is the agricultural investment arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with billions of dollars worth of holdings across North America, South America, Europe and Australia.