JWH Group’s Julian Walter says farm prices are too high

Prominent WA businessman Julian Walter says farm prices are “red hot” and have hit a level he is not prepared to pay as he looks to expand his farming portfolio. Mr Walter — founder of homebuilding giant JWH Group — said last month he unsuccessfully bid on the 723ha Kojonup farm Karinya. It sold under the hammer to a local farmer for $4.4 million — equivalent to $6085 per hectare, fence to fence. Mr Walter’s Cherylton Farms operations include about 9000ha of cropping and sheep farmland at Kojonup.He said he was keen on Karinya because it connected his existing farms. “I had a certain figure in my mind,” he said. “The agent said there was a bit of excitement about the property .... we were prepared to pay a premium because it adjoined our other farms. But it went up and up and up on the day.” Mr Walter said he was puzzled by the steep rise in farm values over recent years. He pointed to Rural Bank data that showed the median price for WA agricultural properties increased by 28.2 per cent during 2019. Prices have continued to soar since. Other recent notable WA sales include the 1479ha Kojonup property Maybenup, which went to a syndicate of local farmers for $10.74m — equivalent to a record $7222/ha for the district. At Calingiri, the 3586ha Carani Farms sold for $11.83m to three individual buyers. That sale price was equivalent to $3299/ha. “Although the productivity net has also increased, that sort of escalation so dramatically is a bit perplexing,” Mr Walter said. “We are sitting back for now and trying to figure out why. “Of recent sales, some were farms that adjoined others. We have also seen a lot of corporate money coming into ag, particularly with interest rates being so rubbish. “Corporates can buy then lease land and get 3.5-4 per cent. That’s a good return as far as they are concerned, plus they get the appreciation.” Mr Walter said he had considered buying farms across WA to build on his farming portfolio. “We have looked a few times, because of the amount of gear we have, whether we go down the south coast, or even up to Irwin,” he said. “We’ve even looked at the wheatbelt at one stage. “We will just watch and wait for now. We know the agents quite well, so if something of interest comes up I’m sure we will get a phone call.” With harvest in full swing, Mr Walter said he couldn’t be happier, with yields coming in far bigger than anticipated. “We always budget conservatively, but we reworked our budget a month ago to reflect a better outlook,” he said. “The lads are in the paddock at the moment and it’s coming over the top of that again. “What we are seeing on the screens (of the headers) we haven’t seen for a while. We increased insurances the other day just in case.” Mr Walter said he was also “getting an itch for more black cows” and could look to increase Angus cattle numbers at Donnybrook.