Revealed: Who owns Victoria’s farms now

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are making a multi-million dollar charge for Victoria’s farms, a joint Herald Sun and Weekly Times investigation reveals. They are not the only foreign invader scooping up our fertile farmland.

The world-famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police are making a charge for Victorian farmland.

A joint Herald Sun and Weekly Times investigation shows PSP Investments, which manages the superannuation funds of Canada’s public service, armed forces and the 30,000-member-strong mounted police, is rapidly rising through the ranks of Victoria’s biggest agricultural players by snapping up prime dairy, grain and almond properties.

PSP Investments is the single-biggest player in Australian agriculture with farmland and water assets exceeding $3 billion.

In the past two years, the Montreal-based fund has been involved in more than $2.3 billion worth of transactions nationally, including its $860 million purchase of 12,000 hectares of almond plantations, and significant water rights near Robinvale in northern Victoria late last year.

More recently, the farming behemoth has also been active on the dairy front, paying more than $55 million for 11 Gippsland dairy farms in October 2020 to add to its already extensive Aurora Dairies portfolio of 11 farms spread from Port Fairy in the south to Cobden and Echuca in the north.

Allan Myers QC who owns alot of Victorian farming land. Picture David Geraghty / The Australian.

Other major investors in Victorian farms include Melbourne barrister-to-the-stars Allan Myers, who has put together more than 10,000 hectares of land around his hometown of Dunkeld, and UK-based Australian billionaire Sir Michael Hintze, who paid $10 million for the historic Cheviot Hills property near Penshurst in 2017.

Australia’s second and third-biggest agricultural players – Macquarie Agriculture and the US TIAA-CREF – also have significant farmland holdings in Victoria.

Two of the state’s biggest farms – the 47,700-hectare Telopea Downs aggregation in western Victoria and the 6488-hectare Cobungra Station near Omeo in the Victorian high country – have changed hands in recent years.

South Australian pastoral company AJ & PA McBride paid more than $70 million for Telopea Downs in 2018 while the ASX-listed Rural Funds Group outlaid $35 million for Cobungra Station last year.

Billionaire expat Aussie Hedgefund manager Michael Hintze. Picture: Sam Mooy

AUSTON CORPORATION (CANADA)

Australian arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board which was established in 1991 and administers pensions for 183,000 teachers. It owns about $500 million worth of almond and avocado farms in South Australia and Victoria.

• Margooya/Canarvon, Robinvale VIC – 2878 hectares. Purchased in 2015 for $115 million.

AUSTRALIAN FRESH MILK HOLDINGS

A partnership between Chinese agriculture group New Hope, the Perich Group and ASX-listed Freedom Foods. Has significantly increased its investments in the past two years.

• Coomboona Farms, Goulburn Valley VIC. Purchased in 2018 for about $46 million.

• Moxey Farms, Gooloogong NSW – 2700 hectares. Purchased for $100 million in 2015.

• Torrumbarry Estate aggregation, Torrumbarry VIC – 3500 hectares. Purchased in 2019 for $40 million.

BOUNDARY BEND LIMITED

Established in 1998, now Australia’s leading producer of premium extra-virgin olive oil. Operates over 6278 hectares of land with property, water and 2.2 million trees valued at $163 million. ASX listed.

• Boort Estate, Boort VIC – 2550 hectares of olive groves, comprising 900,000 trees.

• Boundary Bend Estate, Boundary Bend/Wemen VIC – 3500 hectares of olive groves, comprising 1.3 million trees.

TA & PA BRINKWORTH-CAPARRA PTY LTD

One of Australia’s wealthiest grazing families. Operates over one million hectares of land spread across 100 properties, including:

• Kaladbro Station, Strathdownie VIC. 2632 hectares. Purchased in 2016.

Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing. Picture: AFP

CK LIFE SCIENCES (CHINA)

Hong Kong-listed company, backed by Hong Kong’s richest person Li Ka-shing. Australia’s second-largest vineyard owner. Also has citrus and grape growing properties in Victoria’s Sunraysia region as well as grain, cotton, mango and berry investments.

• Nangiloc Colignan Farms, Mildura VIC – 700 hectares of citrus and table grape orchards. Purchased for $50 million in 2018 (including $16 million of water entitlements).

DUNKELD PASTORAL COMPANY

Owned by prominent Melbourne barrister Allan Myers QC. Operates more than 10,000 hectares of land in Victoria’s Western District. Produces about 370,000kg of lamb and 230,000kg of beef annually.

• Blackwood Station, Dunkeld VIC – 2405 hectares. Purchased from Chinese-owned Rifa Salutary in 2019 for about $14.5 million.

• Dunkeld Station aggregation, Dunkeld VIC – 8800 hectares. Established in 1976.

Source: dunkeldpastoral.com.au

FIRST STATE SUPER

Superannuation group established in 1992 for NSW public sector employees and their families. Currently manages about $89 billion on behalf of 770,000 members.

• Mullroo, Cullulleraine VIC – 300 hectares of almonds. Purchased from Select Harvests in 2015.

FUCHENG GROUP (CHINA)

Chinese automotive interior company. Also owns feedlots in Queensland and has plans to build a $100 million abattoir.

• Eilan Donan and Breadalbane, Sutton Grange VIC – 2177 hectares. Purchased in 2015.

• Nerowie Farm, Melton VIC – 1100 hectares.

• Woodhouse Station, Melton VIC – 5000 hectares. Purchased in 2016 for about $100 million.

GLENTHOMPSON PASTORAL COMPANY

Owned by the Mann family and boasts sheep, cattle, dairy, cropping and horticulture enterprises.

• Bakers Bridge Farm, Gheringhap VIC. Purchased in 1996.

• Brie Brie, Glenthompson VIC. Purchased in 1936. Expanded in 2006 to include the neighbouring Bilpah Hills.

• Doonaree, Camperdown VIC. Purchased in 2006. Runs about 500 Holstein cows.

• Larra, Derrinallum VIC. Purchased in 1984.

GOFARM

With a portfolio of land and water assets exceeding $500 million, goFarm is a Melbourne-based, Australian-owned agriculture investor and manager. Its assets include more than 44,000 hectares of prime agricultural and horticultural land growing grain, oilseeds and pulses, citrus, berries, wine grapes, avocados and nut crops. Last year, goFarm’s Akuna Trust began raising $100 million to purchase 28 dairy farms on the Murray Valley Katunga deep lead aquifer, in a bid to convert them to almond blocks.

GRAY WIGG

Major dairy farming players in Gippsland. Sold 2500ha of dairy farms around Nambrok for $55 million-plus to Canada’s PSP Investments in 2020.

Paddy Handbury, son of Geoff and the late Helen Handbury.

HANDBURY GROUP

Headed up by Paddy Handbury, son of Geoff and the late Helen Handbury. Sold Collinsville Merino stud and property in 2014.

• The Rises, Balmoral VIC.

KILTER RURAL

Has about $440 million invested in Australian agriculture assets, particularly farmland and water. Founded in 2004 supported by an initial $175 million investment by VicSuper, the business has put together large parcels of land, including several in the Swan Hill, Kerang and Lake Boga districts of northern Victoria, to grow crops that maximise water efficiency.

MACQUARIE AGRICULTURE

The Macquarie Bank funds of Paraway Pastoral Company, Lawson Grains and more recently Viridis Ag are ranked as Australia’s second-biggest agriculture investor with assets worth $2.7 billion. Macquarie Agriculture has an additional US$250 million invested in agriculture in Brazil.

MH Premium Farms, owned by British-Australian billionaire hedge fund manager Sir Michael Hintze.

PARAWAY PASTORAL

One of Australia’s biggest livestock producers with 4.46 million hectares spread over 28 aggregations. The properties produce 30,000 tonnes of beef, 1460 tonnes of wool and 170,000 surplus sheep for sale annually.

• Barton, Moyston VIC – 8244 hectares.

• Beckworth Court, Clunes VIC – 3024 hectares.

AJ & PA MCBRIDE

Based in South Australia, the sixth-generation AJ & PA McBride and Co operates across 1.1 million hectares and boasts assets of between $300 and $400 million. The company is now owned by 102 McBride family shareholders with a strong focus on wool.

• Telopea Downs aggregation, Telopea Downs VIC – 47,677 hectares. Purchased in 2018.

MH PREMIUM FARMS

Owned by UK-based Australian billionaire Sir Michael Hintze, MH Premium Farms was founded in 2007 and now operates across more than 72,000 hectares and 40 properties in NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

• Cheviot Hills, Penshurst VIC – 2793 hectares.

Colin McKenna on his dairy farm. Picture: Zoe Phillips

MIDFIELD GROUP (POMALA PTY LTD)

Midfield Meats boss Colin McKenna owns about 7284 hectares across eight properties in southwest Victoria and South Australia’s South East, including:

• Kuleah/Quamby East, Woolsthorpe VIC – 1894 hectares.

• The Union Station, Warrnambool VIC – 3237 hectares.

PSP INVESTMENTS (CANADA)

Manages the superannuation funds of the Canadian public sector and armed forces in addition to the 30,000 member-strong Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The biggest investor in Australian agriculture with more than $3 billion in assets through direct investment and joint ventures.

AURORA DAIRIES

• Bangalay, Rosedale VIC – 340 hectares.

• Coradjil Place, Simpson VIC – 310 hectares.

• Glenfarm, Cobden VIC – 180 hectares.

• Gray Wigg farms, Nambrok VIC – 2500 hectares. Purchased in 2020 for $55 million-plus.

• Maritana, Echuca VIC – 1010 hectares.

• Orford Wells, Port Fairy VIC – 360 hectares.

• Patricks Day, Hawkesdale VIC – 400 hectares.

• Peneplain, Rosedale VIC – 450 hectares.

• Poorinda, Simpson VIC – 285 hectares.

• Warwillah, Hawkesdale VIC – 340 hectares.

• Wellbourne, Simpson VIC – 260 hectares.

BLUE SKY ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

• Millewa vineyard, Cullulleraine VIC – 519 hectares. Purchased in 2018 for $16 million.

DAYBREAK CROPPING

Owns seven properties covering 75,220 hectares. Managed by Warakirri Asset Management (see separate listing).

• Catumnal Farms, Boort VIC – 7300 hectares.

OLAM ORCHARDS AUSTRALIA

• Almond orchards, Robinvale VIC – 12,000 hectares. Paid more than $850 million for the land and almost 90,000 megalitres of high-security water in one of the biggest deals in Australia’s agriculture history.

WEN QUIGNAN (CHINA)

Chinese businessman, Tianyu Wool Industries president.

• Lal Lal Estate, Yendon VIC – 2025 hectares. Purchased in 2014.

• Mawallok Estate, Stockyard Hill VIC – 2349 hectares. Purchased in 2019 for more than $25 million.

RURAL FUNDS GROUP

The ASX-listed Rural Funds Group has large-scale investments in almonds, beef, cotton, macadamias and vineyards across 692,182 hectares in NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.

• Cobungra Station, Omeo VIC – 6488 hectares. Purchased in 2019 for $35 million.

SELECT HARVESTS

Operates 7696 hectares of almond orchards in Victorian Mallee, the South Australian Riverland and NSW Riverina.

• Lake Cullulleraine orchard, Lake Cullulleraine VIC.

• Robinvale/Euston orchards VIC/NSW – 1688 hectares.

An estate bought for $14 million by Chinese luxury textile company Shandong Ruyi to be used as a research facility for producing superfine merino wool in Victoria.

SHANDONG RUYI (CHINA)

Chinese textile group.

• Larundel Estate, Ballarat VIC – 1012 hectares. Purchased in 2011 for $14 million.

STONE AXE PASTORAL COMPANY

Venture between cattleman Matthew Walker and investment bank Moelis.

• Cobungra Station, Cobungra VIC – 31,000 hectares. Leased from Rural Funds Management (see separate listing).

TIAA-CREF/NUVEEN (UNITED STATES)

One of the biggest investors in Australian agriculture, the New York-based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund, through its asset management subsidiary Nuveen, owns a whopping 286,371 of cropping country over 71 properties or aggregation. Its land and water portfolio is worth an estimated $1.7 billion.

• Cressy VIC – 1509 hectares.

• Darlington VIC – 1350 hectares.

• Derrinallum VIC – 688 hectares.

• Lismore VIC – 2781 hectares.

TRT PASTORAL GROUP

Owned by Melbourne businessman Tim Roberts-Thompson. Sold the 33,700-hectare Juanbung Station near Hay NSW in 2019 for about $60 million.

• Howquadale Station, Mansfield VIC – aggregation of five properties totalling 2024 hectares.

ULUPNA PASTORAL COMPANY

A partnership between large-scale West Australian farmer John Nicoletti and CBRE Agribusiness regional director Danny Thomas. Have purchased more than 4000 hectares of land in northern Victoria in recent years.

VIC SUPER

Melbourne-based superannuation and pension fund with $256 million invested in farming, particularly in northern Victoria around Swan Hill, Kerang and Lake Boga. Includes 9000 hectares spread across 38 farms growing irrigated cotton, organic wheat, organic barley, organic soy beans, lucerne hay, tomatoes and stone fruit, including nectarines peaches and plums.

WARAKIRRI ASSET MANAGEMENT

Warakirri Asset Management is another of Australian agriculture’s multi-million dollar behemoths, overseeing about $800 million in assets under the separate banners of Aurora Dairies, Warakirri Cropping and Daybreak Cropping (which is backed by Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board – see separate listing)

– WARAKIRRI CROPPING

• Baingarra, Minyip VIC – 5600 hectares.

• Bullarto Downs, Hopetoun VIC – 5900 hectares.

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Originally published as Revealed: Who owns Victoria’s farms now