Author: Farmland Investor

The Western Australian farmers are well known for their resilience and ability to turn a profit from very little rainfall. Mild conditions, lack of frost, favourable timing of rainfall events and large areas of ameliorated soils combined to turn a below-average year into one that turned out to be above average.

After three very dry years along the Eastern seaboard culminating in the horrendous fires last summer, the rain finally arrived in Feb 2020. It did not stop for the entire year. Where previously dust had blown, paddocks were quickly transformed into lush pastures and green crops of wheat barley and canola.

It would be remiss of us not to mention the COVID pandemic and the current situation in Australia. We feel the Australian politicians have over reacted to the danger and have wasted billions of dollars, destroyed many small businesses, and

They say the darkest hour is just before dawn. And so again it has proved to be the case with the ending of the drought after a particuliarly nasty hot summer filled with bushfires, dust storms and virtually no rain. The rains began in mid Februrary and have been constant ever since.

Located approx 50 linear km north west of Griffith and 32 linear km north of Carrathool, ‘Springdale’ is a highly developed 296.86 hectare cotton irrigation farm. This small farm punches way above it’s weight in terms of productivity and efficiency and could easily be converted into a horticulture/tree farm or an intensive livestock operation.

Agricultural land investment – Held by the same family since 1919, the sale of ‘West Plains’ provides an opportunity to secure one of the largest holdings in the Jemalong Irrigation area.

Hard to find acres so close to the main street, situated only 2kms from Gundagai CBD with sealed road access.

Who says you can’t have it all. The convenience of town, whilst enjoying the best of country living on a small farm. Located only 5km from the Cootamundra Post Office, ‘Braeside’ is situated on the Kilrush road nestled into a beautiful valley surrounded by some of the most productive and picturesque farming country in the state.

For those seeking the ultimate private getaway to escape the hustle and bustle of modern day living, this unique river block, 20 kms from the Tumut CBD, might be exactly what you are looking for. Nestled along the Goobarragandra river you will find this picturesque 710 acre lifestyle / mixed farming property with over 2 kms of spectacular river frontage.

The Asset – 2,279 acres of beautiful red basalt soils, of which approx 90% is arable with the remainder producing high quailty pastures.’Bindinyah’ has an impressive history of high DSE carrying rates with a large proportion of the property sown down to highly productive perennial grasses and legumes. Subdivided into 46 paddocks, and with a fail-safe water delivery system, ‘Bindinyah’ is arguably, pound for pound, one of the best properties in the Cootamundra Shire.

Farmland Investment Season has started

Farmland Crops off to a great start across NSW

History suggests the price of wool is closely correlated to the health of the global economy. As a non-essential purchase for most consumers this makes sense; the buying of a woollen garment requires the consumer to have a level of disposable income and when an economy is struggling, disposable income is often harder to find

2019 was a below average rainfall year for most of Australia. The Western Australian wheat belt was no exception with below average rainfall reported in most areas. Strangely, the Southern area of WA, where most of our farms are situated, had for the second year in a row, below average

It’s been an extremely interesting six months in Australia with the recent Federal election upset (more on that later) and a seemingly weak economy leading to another interest rate cut. The central bank policy rate is now 1%. This is

Unfortunately, dry conditions continue to linger throughout Australia and rural Australia continues to struggle somewhat.

Wool prices remain strong despite coming off their 2018 highs. With so little supply coming to market, it is hard to see wool prices retreating too much further. The below graph shows the strength in the wool market over the last ten years.

The poor conditions that marred 2018 have had a significant impact on sheep meat supply in 2019, with lamb slaughter at its lowest since 2012.  Dry conditions, which have led to substantial drops in marking rates and the extensive culling

We had an inspection of the WA farms in late April and even though it was quite dry, Bella Vista had a good coverage of green Lucerne throughout. Our tenant, Wayne Pech, runs a very conservative cropping/grazing operation on a rather large scale, and it is obvious to us he is a very good manager.

When purchasing a farm, you are buying a real asset that provides all the benefits of owning gold with the added benefit of receiving an annual dividend from lease payments. The lease model takes away all the operational risk traditionally associated with farming. Investments can be as small as $500,000 AUD right up to $20 million AUD. Your investment will be professionally managed by the Miller and James team

We are fortunate that most of the farms owned by Demeter are in the higher rainfall areas of NSW. The graph below shows that although it is still dry across the state, rainfall is actually only slightly below average after the first half of the year at Temora. Of course, every region is different, and the northern area of NSW is still very dry, but the Demeter properties are by and large looking really good.

Wool prices remain strong despite coming of their 2018 highs. With so little supply coming to the market, it is hard to see wool prices retreating too much further. The below graph shows the strength in the wool market over the last ten years.

The poor conditions that marred 2018 have had a significant impact on sheep meat supply in 2019, with lamb slaughter at its lowest since 2012.

Buy farmland in Australia – Farmland Investment Opportunities for foreigners

Australian farmland per hectare is the cheapest in the world to produce a tonne of wheat. Globally, the average increase in the cost of land for production of a tonne of wheat over the past five years was of 8.6% (in USD). Furthermore, farmland values in the region of the Company are undervalued compared to the three-year average value for the wheatbelt regions.

In 2016/17, Australia produced 45 million tonnes of grains from 22.9 million hectares, generating $13.5 billion in revenue. The Australian grain industry exports approximately 60% of this production (by value and 70% by volume), with the other 40% being consumed domestically. Grain production is predominantly focused in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Farmland Investments – Global grain consumption has consistently risen over the past 50 years and is expected to continue, driven by population growth and rising per capita incomes in emerging economies. Grain consumption is forecast to increase by 13% over its current level to reach 3.49 billion tonnes consumed by 2027.

On most occasions, prior to the purchase of the property, Miller & James have already identified a tenant who is interested in a long-term lease of the farm. Miller & James have access to a large pool of quality farmers who are interested in increasing their operations through leasing additional farmland. It is important to take special care in selecting the right tenants.

TOTAL: 544.2 Hectares (1,344.9 acres) Situated: 20km north/east of Coolamon and 20km north of Marrar. Country: Stonecroft’ native timber is Yellow Box, Grey Box, Cypress Pine and Kurrajong. The soil is strong red loam and gently undulating it is also approximately 90% arable.

Farmland Investment Australia – Gowrie Park, Endeby, Farmland Investment Opportunities, Wyralla, Pleasant Park

Farmland investment opportunities
IT TAKES 10 MILLION YEARS TO MAKE GOOD SOIL SO DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME BUYING THE BAD STUFF

Trelawney Aggregation.

Situated approx 10km north of Bethungra, 20km west of Cootamundra, 35km south-east of Temora, and 60km north-east of Wagga, Wagga, Trelawney is one of those properties that ticks all the boxes. With a 525mm annual average rainfall (Junee weather station), undulating open paddocks with rich red loam soils, and a backdrop of the beautiful Bethungra Ranges, this property combines production potential with a dream lifestyle.

SMALL FARM WITH BUILDING ENTITLEMENT 10KM FROM TEMORA POST OFFICE Investing in small farms Part 870 Traegers Road, TEMORAFOR SALE BY EOI 🌾 Approx 150 acres 🌾 Highly fertile red loam country 🌾 99% Arable 🌾 10km north of Temora

Farmland Investment Australia – “INMARNA” EXCELLENT GRAZING COUNTRY 341 ha (842 acres), $1850 per acre.

There has been no sign of an easing in farm prices. In the last two months of 2018, there were several record-breaking sales across Southern NSW. On top of this, corporate money continues to pour into the sector. It is

Target area for potential investments and acquisitions To mitigate climate risk, a portfolio of properties should be spread across two or three different climatic regions:   The blue circle in the north is cattle fattening country (Downs country), and receives

The leading farmland investment company; LICENSED REAL ESTATE STOCK & STATION AGENTS VALUERS & AUCTIONEERS Quality Service and Personal Attention Assured Since 1903 Miller & James Real Estate Temora has been committed to providing the best services available to meet

Legal System Farmland might have been the highest returning asset class over centuries. But only if you did not lose your property due to revolutions, land redistributions or punitive taxes. History is full of examples of those breaches of property

There are numerous private equity funds, companies and even stock market listed companies, which offer the idea of farmland investments to the public or to high net worth investors. All of them operate farms or cattle stations themselves. One high

1. Is Agriculture an interesting asset class?
2. What is the optimal way to gain exposure this asset class?
3. Which continent offers the best return for least risk?
4. Do I want to take on operational risk?
5. Who is the best team to develop and implement my agricultural investment Who is the best team to develop and implement my agricultural investment

1. The blue circle in the north is cattle fattening country (Downs country), and receives it’s rainfall in
   summer from topical monsoons
2. The red circle represents the northern cropping zone which receives wet summers and occasional winter events. This is also cattle country
3. The green circle represents the southern cropping zone. This area receives the majority of it’s rainfall in winter and has very dry summers. This area is also used to produce wool and fat lambs

The value of the investment is the sum of the first three points

• • No investment is perfect. Value is a relative and subjective judgement:
  • There is no point purchasing a great farm at too higher price:
  • There is no point in purchasing a cheap farm that has inherent problems:
  • The job of the manager is to identify value, follow up with a due diligence process that confirms his initial
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There are several factors that determine whether or not a certain farm is a good investment. These factors include the following

1. The rainfall
2. The soils
3. The tenant
4. The investment manager
5. The amount of, and condition of infrastructure
6. Location
7. The price