One of the country’s most prominent cotton growers, Tim and Roger Commins have put their 2807ha cropping portfolio up for sale, with expectations of $90 million and above.
Located 30km south-east of Griffith, the property grows cotton, corn, wheat, barley and canola in rotation.
It has 14,000 megalitres of water entitlements supplying laser-levelled bankless channel irrigation, supported by 1,860ML of combined on-farm water storage. The water is drawn from a combination of high-security Murrumbidgee River and groundwater.
The Commins brothers were the 2016 high achievers of the year at the Australian Cotton Industry Awards and were instrumental in the launch of the independently owned Southern Cotton gin in Whitton in 2012. Via their Commins Enterprises, they have engaged in a range of regional businesses including wine storage tanks, eucalyptus plantations, seedless mandarins and the ASX listed Murray Cod Australia.
“As the Commins family initiate succession planning, the vendors would like to step back from farming at an institutional scale - the divestment of this significant land and water portfolio will free up a lot of time for Roger and Tim and their respective families, to focus on the many existing and successful business ventures they maintain in the surrounding region,” said LAWD Director Erica Semmens.
The property is expected to attract institutional interest. Expressions of interest closing Thursday 14 March via LAWD.
Aileron Station and Oolloo Farm
Two multimillion dollar sales kick off February
Rich Lister and institutional investors are locking in deals this week as a Palestinian refugee buys a station in the NT and a Canadian pension fund buys a major NSW cropping aggregation.
Petrol station mogul, Charlie Shahin has fulfilled a “long held dream” by buying the 408,000ha Aileron Station the Northern Territory.
The Australian Financial Review ($) is reporting that Mr Shahin is the new owner of the certified organic property, 130km from Alice Springs, previously owned by Melbourne fund manager Caason Group.
No price was given for the sale, but Aileron, and its 1047ha sister property Oolloo Farm, was listed in July last year by LAWD’s Danny Thomas with expectations of $25 million.
Mr Shahin’s is a heartwarming rags to riches story. Palestinian refugees, he and his family emigrated to South Australia from Lebanon 40 years ago and the family built up a fuel and convenience operation beginning with a single location in a working-class Adelaide suburb. After growing the business to 160 locations Mr Shahin and his brothers sold the business to Viva Energy for $1.15 billion last year.
He is not expected to be sitting back in terms of the investment, telling the AFR he would take an active role in developing the properties. Mr Shahin has two agricultural engineering degrees.
Mr Shahin also told the AFR the “timing is right” in terms of investing in farming from a food sustainability and food security perspective.
You can read more about Aileron Station and Oolloo Farm via the original article on APlus News.
Lawson Grains purchases 835ha Noorongong farm
The shopping spree by Canadian pension fund-backed Lawson Grains in continuing with the farm giant buying the 835ha Noorongong cropping aggregation in NSW’s Central West according to The Weekly Times ($).
It takes Lawson’s holdings to almost 12,000ha of land across 70 properties.
Formerly owned by Macquarie, Lawson Grains is now controlled by New Agriculture, an investment vehicle owned the Alberta Investment Management Company-backed New Forest. Last year New Agriculture acquired the 3-million-hectare Kimberley Cattle Portfolio. The investor’s stated goal is “sustainable agricultural production while also aligning with New Forests’ strategic impact objectives to contribute to nature-based solutions,” according to the firm’s website.
Listed by Johnston Rural Group, Noorongong is 12km from Forbes and boasts highly fertile soils with a strong top-dressing history that is suited to both livestock and cropping. It features eight bore holes supplying high quality water, sheep yards, storage shed and silos.
Also promoted by the selling agent is the biodiversity potential of pockets of remnant timber that could attract biodiversity or carbon credits.
Duxton's apple property at Loxton
Multimillion dollar horticulture assets on the table
Institutional holdings of apples, almonds, citrus and avocado have hit the market across South Australia, NSW and Victoria.
Agricultural fund manager Duxton is listing its 430ha South Australian apple operation which supplies a quarter of the state's apple crop. Across three separate landholdings, the property produces a mix of Pink Lady (60%), Granny Smith (25%) and Gala (15%). Two of the properties are freehold assets while the third is leased until June 2040.
2023 production equated to more than 20,000 bins.
CBRE Agribusiness’s Angus Bills expected interest to "predominantly stem from existing South Australian growers looking for an expansion opportunity and interstate operators seeking a diversification opportunity, given some of the recent weather challenges experienced interstate.”
EOI closing 14th March 2024.
Murray almonds
Mr Bills is also selling the 635ha Yarrum Agriculture Almond Aggregation in Victoria for $22m and above across two separate landholdings of 317ha, with a further 200ha well suited for further development.
The aggregation is being offered for sale on a walk-in walk-out basis with plant and equipment to be negotiated throughout the sale process.
The 2021 plantings are currently being harvested with an expected yield of approximately 500-750kg per hectare.
Riverina citrus and avocado
$25m is expected for Riverina-based Moricom Orchards, growing Afourer Mandarins, Sumo Mandarins and Hass Avocados over 108ha on a 503ha property. A futher 168ha is suitable for further plantation.
Originated by citrus-industry 'stalwarts' John and Dean Morris, the property draws from the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Main Canal, with an elevated topography that minimises risk of frost and flood, and a Mediterranean climate.
"“The Moricom Orchards site was strategically selected and has been designed to grow premium quality sweet tasting seedless fruit targeted at supplying counter seasonal export markets and the Delite and Sumo consumer citrus brands in Australia. The avocado production is aimed at supplying the gap after Queensland harvest has finished and before Western Australia commences,” said CBRE listing agent Boo Harvey said.
The orchard’s irrigation water is automatically pH adjusted to ensure that nutrients are taken up freely by the trees and is delivered to the plantings via state of the art fully automated drip irrigation and fertigation systems across high density plantings ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 trees per hectare.
EOI closing 21 March 2024.
