More than $500m in Australian farmland to hit market

One of Australia’s biggest cropping businesses, which includes six WA aggregations, is expected to fetch more than $500 million when it hits the market on Monday. Macquarie Crop Partners is selling its Lawson Grain business, comprising 105,000ha (90,500ha arable), which it has spent 10 years building. The WA aggregations are Hakea near Munglinup, Walyoo at Dandaragan, St Leonards and Wongan at Wongan Hills, Jerry South at Jerramungup and Gunnadoo at Jacup. LAWD’s Danny Thomas is marketing the properties with colleagues Col Medway and John McKillop. It is understood the fund was being liquidated after reaching the end of its 10 year life. The sale comes as rural land values are rocketing, with record prices achieved in many WA regions. In value terms the Lawson sale eclipses billionaire Gina Rinehart’s estimated $280-$300m listings this week of seven cattle properties, covering almost two million hectares of WA and Northern Territory pastoral land, including Nerrima and Ruby Plains in the Kimberley. Lawson describes itself as Australia’s leading corporate grain farmer. It said on its website its geographic diversity provides lower climatic, market and staffing risks, and has resulted in increased value for shareholders year after year. “We farm over 90,000 arable hectares in some of Australia’s most productive cropping districts,” the website states. “While we are not one of the largest landholders in Australia, we are one of the country’s biggest grain producers.” Macquarie’s portfolio of other agricultural investments includes Macquarie Pastoral Fund’s Paraway Pastoral Company, and Macquarie Agricultural Fund Management’s Viridis Ag, which has a big WA exposure.