Farm ownership Australia: Big cash brings big ideas

FAMILY farms remain the backbone of Australian agriculture, but foreign investment and corporate capital is helping take them to the next level, it’s outlined in this EDITORIAL.

FAMILY farms remain the backbone of Australian agriculture.

But foreign investment and corporate capital is helping take them to the next level.

The Weekly Times this week has compiled a comprehensive list of who owns about 900 of Australia’s farms, and while many of the big players are getting bigger, there is little to fear from that trend.

FULL LIST: WHO OWNS AUSTRALIA’S FARMS?

Corporate and foreign investment in agriculture comes and goes in waves. It always has and it always will. But given concerns about a lack of support, and indeed sometimes increased interference, the Australian agriculture industry receives from all levels of government, it should be embraced.

For with the big boys and girls of agriculture come the big plans, the big technology and, best of all, the big ideas. These investors are helping set up farms, and the wider rural communities, for future generations — in many instances well after they have packed up and gone home.

They offer classic ‘look-over-the-neighbours-fence’ opportunities to lift the productivity of Australian agriculture.

As David Goodfellow, the head of Auston Corporation, the Canadian pension fund with about $1 billion to spend locally in agriculture, points out, a lack of investment in Australian agriculture in the past 15 years means “we are quickly falling not just a little bit but way behind the rest of the world”.

“It was not that long ago that we were up there with the best farmers in the world,” he said.

We need to pull our socks up, embrace all opportunities presented to us and capitalise on strong farmgate returns for our industry.

It’s time to make hay while the sun shines.

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