Month-In-Review-March-2015

Month in Review
March 2015
In recent months we have seen an increase in activity
within the corporate sector, from existing and new
companies. This includes:
Existing corporates
Existing corporates such as Warakirri, Westchester
and Macquarie are still active within the Moree Plains
and Southern Downs/Goondiwindi regions. We saw
the recent purchase of Gubbagunyah at Toobeah for
$15.6 million by Global Ag (Westchester), a 4,395
hectares mixed irrigated and dryland farming holding
which adjoined their 2013 $34.5 million purchase of
McIntyre Downs. This will now provide a significant
scale including almost 10,000 hectares with
approximately 3,500 hectares of irrigation.
New Players
Over the course of the past two years, an investment
arm of Cargill, Black River, has acquired property in
the name of One Tree Agriculture Pty Ltd totalling
approximately 6,750 hectares of prime Warra
Brigalow farming country for in excess of $33 million.
This equates to around $4,900 per hectare bare.
We understand that they intend to continue with this
acquisition programme.
Gina Rinehart and the Hope Dairies Project
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, recently
announced her intention to invest up to a half a
billion dollars in the South Burnett region to produce
infant milk formula for the Chinese market. The Hope
Dairies project plans to establish Australia’s biggest
dairy operation by acquiring 5,000 hectares of
farmland and building a processing plant in the Mary
Valley. By association therefore, the scale of this
operation will make both processors and the retail
market take notice and could have a positive knock
on effect for local producers. We understand that
the aim of the project will see the construction of a
16,000 head dairy aiming to produce about 40% to
60% of a total yearly requirement of 150,000,000
litres by 2016 with the balance sourced from local
and regional producers.
The requirement to source around 75,000,000 litres
from local producers will be a real shot in the arm for
the regional dairy industry in southern Queensland.
Wellcamp Airport /Second Range Crossing
No hard evidence yet, but the broad feedback is that
the airport and crossing will provide major benefits
not only to Toowoomba but a much wider region.
The freight side of the project appears to be at the
forefront of everyone’s mind with the potential
opportunities significant.
$71 million Grantham Cannery Proposal
The project comprises a 23,500 square metre
proposal to include processing vegetables primarily
from the Lockyer Valley in the first instance and
tropical fruits and vegetables from throughout
Queensland. The anticipated output from this project
is hoped to replace a significant portion of vegetable
products currently imported. The project appears to
have the full support of the Lockyer Valley Regional
Council with production planned to commence in
July 2017. This project is the type of business that the
Wellcamp Airport will be chasing, with easy access to
the airport via the bypass when completed.
Chinese acquisitions in southern Queensland
Hollymount and Mt. Driven via Westmar: The
acquisition price totalled $41.5 million or about $830
per hectare and comprised approximately 50,000
hectares of mixed farming and grazing country but
with the potential to also establish some irrigation.
There are also further water entitlements totalling
almost 700 millilitres including 480 millilitres of
groundwater for stock intensive purposes that would
Rural
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