The Weekly Times | 30 April 2025

by Tallis Miles and James Wagstaff

Grain Producers Australia Southern Region Director Andrew Weidemann discusses the growing disconnect between farmers and current governments. “It's very much a disconnection between rural people and the current governments,” Mr Weidemann told Sky News Australia. “We've got mining, taking up some of the best agricultural land in Australia, highly productive soils. "We are being blindsided by government looking to basically rip out the feet from under farming families right across the regions.”

Corporate-backed farming groups from North America and the UK have emerged as dominant forces in Australia’s rural property market in 2025, capitalising on plateauing land values and a more cautious approach from family farm buyers.

Major pension funds, European family offices and even the agricultural investment arm of the Mormon church have completed significant acquisitions in recent months, expanding their Australian farmland portfolios with high-quality assets.

Canada’s PSP Investments, already the nation’s largest agricultural landholder by value, recently paid $500 million to acquire full ownership of the 30,000-hectare Kooba aggregation and its valuable water entitlements near Griffith in the NSW Riverina. Formerly part of the ASX-listed Webster Limited portfolio, the deal lifts PSP’s total Australian holdings to an estimated$8.5 billion.

In AgJournal’s annual investigation into Who Owns Australia’s Farms, the rankings of Australia’s largest landholders by value and area remain largely stable, though some reshuffling has occurred.

PSP retains its No. 1 position, with interests including the 2.27 million-hectare Hewitt livestock portfolio spanning NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory, the Aurora Dairies business milking more than 40,000 cows across 50 farms in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, and the horticulture and nut operation Stahmann Webster.

Macquarie Agriculture remains in second position, with about $4 billion in assets across its major holdings: the 4.5 million-hectare Paraway Pastoral Company, Cubbie Station– Australia’s largest cotton farm near Dirranbandi in Queensland – and the 123,000-hectare broadacre cropping business Viridis Ag.

New York-based teacher pension fund TIAA-CREF, through its Nuveen Natural Capital investment vehicle, holds third place with about $2.5 billion in assets.

Other billion-dollar investors include Gina Rinehart, whose Hancock Agriculture portfolio has grown to $2 billion and 3.5 million hectares following a particularly active year.

ASX-listed Rural Funds Group holds $1.9 billion in assets, Hong Kong-based CK Life Sciences owns $1.8 billion, and both the Australian Agricultural Company and Costa family-backed GO.FARM are valued at $1.5 billion each.

Canadian investors, including Auston Corporation, Fiera Comox, Manulife, and Alberta Investment Management Company, also remain significant players in the market.

When it comes to land size, central Australian pastoralists Viv Oldfield and Donny Costello continue to lead the charge, coming in ahead of Australian Agricultural Company (6.62 million hectares), North Australian Pastoral Company (six million hectares-plus), Williams Cattle Company (4.65 million hectares) and Macquarie Agriculture (4.5 million hectares).

Elders Real Estate’s head of agribusiness services, Mark Barber, says institutional inquiry remains solid with most investors who have raised capital over the past 12 months “now looking for opportunities to deploy”.

On the family farm side of the equation, he says demand from buyers remains steadfast, particularly for assets which offer operational advantage.

“Family inquiry remains strong in most areas, although a little cautious in southern states experiencing dry conditions,” Barber says. “However, balance sheets are generally strong and family farms will be competitive for neighbouring property or properties that have strategy value for the family business.

“We have noticed two trends in the market. The first is the number of days on market has increased recently as the market has become a little more cautious, more time is spent on due diligence, and bank finance is taking longer to obtain. We are also seeing a continuation of lower liquidity in the market as fewer properties are being listed.”

Newcomers – and established players renewing their focus – have been particularly active in Australia’s rural property market over the past 12 months, led by a flurry of high-value transactions.

Among the most notable has been Farmland Reserve, the agricultural investment arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has significantly expanded its Australian footprint with $500 million-plus in acquisitions.

Its largest purchase was the 26,885-hectare Worral Creek portfolio in southern Queensland, acquired for more than $350 million. This was followed by the 5694-hectare Calrossie Farm near Moree in northern NSW, for $68 million, and the 6020-hectare Kentucky Farms in central western NSW for $38 million.

Across the Nullarbor, the MacLachlan family’s Jumbuck Pastoral sold the 1.046 million-hectare Rawlinna Station – the largest sheep station in Australia – to Consolidated Pastoral Company.

Backed by UK private equity figure Guy Hands through his family office, Terra Firma, CPC’s acquisition marks a strategic diversification. Traditionally a beef-focused business, CPC now controls about 300,000 cattle across nine properties spanning 3.2 million hectares in northern Australia.

Corporate cropping powerhouse Lawson Grains, backed by Canada’s Alberta Investment Management Corporation, has also been active. It recently purchased the 3096-hectare Bulgandra Aggregation at Walbundrie in southern NSW for $43.65 million, sealing the deal in less than two months after the property was listed.

On the family farming front, Queenslanders have led the charge. The Speed family of Taroom acquired a major stake in the 15,976-hectare Moorabinda property for around $40 million. Meanwhile, the Galea family from central Queensland purchased the 3403-hectare mixed cropping Codenwarra West property near Emerald, from Queensland Cotton – a subsidiary of Singapore-based Olam International – for $22.75 million.

Looking ahead, rural property values are expected to remain stable through 2025, provided commodity prices hold. “With the current turmoil in financial and other markets, farmland could be seen as a good alternative to other asset classes,” says Barber.