Permanent Crops

The firm intends to transition the whole farm to organic certified production and will use regenerative practices such as planting cover crops between tree rows.

The two foundation assets for the Warakirri Farmland Fruit are stone fruit orchards that will be leased to WF Montague under a 20-year agreement.

As the sector grows, organic agriculture is facing a string of possibilities and challenges.

Viticulture land is attracting interest from a range of buyers, sparking predictions that its value is set to rise, says CLM consultant Matthew Berryman.

Foreign farmland ownership in Australia was flat year-on-year, with Chinese entities still topping the list of foreign investors despite a fall in the amount of land they own.

The three assets – Vaucluse, One Tree and Racecourse – are expected to fetch more than A$400m for investors in Proterra’s Black River Agriculture Fund 2.

The Australian Farmland Index for Q4 2021 shows that annual farmland continues to outperform permanent cropping, but returns for both have remained solid at 7.22%

The firm re-opened the vehicle in 2020 due to LP demand for exposure to New Zealand’s horticultural products, exports of which have grown by around 7% per annum in the past two decades.

Non-bank lender Thera Capital Management has secured two-thirds of its commitments from outside Australia, gaining traction among investors thanks to ag’s defensive characteristics and ESG themes.

Managing director David Bryant says the firm was in discussions with institutional investors over potentially leasing its macadamia orchards in Queensland.