Van Dairy to sell only part of its northwest Tasmanian holdings

The Chinese owners of part of what once was Australia’s largest dairy farm say they will not be selling all of their share, just part.

Van Dairy owner Xianfeng Lu says his business will remain operational in Tasmania.

Embattled agribusiness Van Dairy says it will only sell part, not all, of its northwest Tasmanian operations.

Prime Value purchased 11 of the 25 dairy farms from Van Dairy two months ago for an estimated $62 million, leaving 14 remaining.

The mega farm has been the subject of scrutiny in recent months both by the Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority and debate in the Tasmanian parliament.

Owner Xianfeng Lu said his company had “earmarked two farms for sale, including the 900-hectare Harcus Dairy, due to operational requirements.”

Mr Lu said he had never considered selling all the farms and had also refused offers to buy the entire estate.

“I will not sell the entire VDL farms,” Mr Lu said.

“We want to make VDL a well-known international brand in the Tasmanian organic dairy industry.”

Officers from the Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority visited all Van Dairy Group farms between February 22 and 26 this year to assess whether there had been compliance with the Farm Dairy Effluent Management Code of Practice.

In a report sent to Mr Lu, TDIA manager Carolyn Harris said 83 per cent of the farms audited failed to meet the requirements of the code.

Tasmanian Agriculture Minister Guy Barnett has been contacted for comment.

Mr Lu said if and when the two farms were sold, Van Dairy would continue to own around 16,000 hectares of the Woolnorth property.

“My goal is to build an international high quality dairy company and I remain committed to this outcome,” Mr Lu said.

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