Livestock

NZ Super is recalibrating its real assets strategy as it navigates weak timber prices in China, adds kiwifruit orchards to its agricultural portfolio and assesses opportunities in Australian cropping.

President Trump’s tariffs have curbed US farm exports and increased its subsidy burdens, while Southern Hemisphere countries like Australia and Brazil stand in strong positions for expansion.

The firm intends to return to market with the second fund in its regenerative agriculture series in 2026.

Australian agtech startup Nbryo plans to scale up its low-cost in-vitro embryo production technology to accelerate genetic gains and cut livestock emissions.

As wildfires and extreme weather escalate, investors are under increasing pressure to allocate more capital to climate resilience and risk sidelining the longer-term goal of reducing emissions.

Foreign ownership of Australian agriculture has seen its first increase in two years as North American investors rapidly expand their holdings and the UK claims the top spot.

New income streams – from water rights to conservation and data infrastructure – are redefining what investors see in ranchland, says Ranchland Capital’s Ed Bardowski.

Australia’s Agriculture and Land Sector Plan outlines major opportunities in carbon, biodiversity and clean fuel, but investors lack the clarity that has driven capital into other sectors like renewable energy.

The pension has previously partnered with Gunn Agri on a farmland platform and has now established a carbon credit beachhead with CEFC – timberland is the next target.

Silva Capital has broken ground on the first project registered under Australia’s biodiversity market but questions remain over how the demand for biodiversity certificates will develop.