A01 Agriculture

AACo primed to pay

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 14-May-15

Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) has posted a statutory profit of $A9.6m for the year ended 31 March 2015, compared with a $A40m loss previously. Revenue rose by 9.5 per cent to $A346.8m, with the proportion of revenue derived from sales of boxed beef rising from 59 per cent to 77 per cent. MD Jason Strong says AACo intends to eventually make its first dividend payment since 2008.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AAC, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

Farmers ‘ready to invest’ again

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 11-May-15

Australian farmers’ total debt stands at about $A60.9bn, Rabobank Australia CEO Thos Gieskes says capital investment is on the agenda again. In recent years many farmers have focused on reducing debts incurred during the drought, but Gieskes says farmers are increasingly upbeat about the sector’s outlook. Meanwhile, he says the Federal Government should redirect funding for the Farm Finance Concessional Loans Scheme to rural R&D programs.

CORPORATES
RABOBANK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, RABODIRECT

Rainfall and tumbling dollar lift farmers to a four-year high

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 23-Mar-15

A new survey by Rabobank shows that Australian farmers’ confidence has risen to its highest level since March 2011. Peter Knoblanche of Rabobank notes that farmers in New South Wales and Queensland have benefited from rain in January, which in turn has boosted cattle prices. The survey also shows that farmers are also generally upbeat about the outlook for the next year

CORPORATES
RABOBANK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NUFARM LIMITED – ASX NUF, ELDERS LIMITED – ASX ELD, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AAC

Bush is back: rural land sales hit $13.7b

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 : 16-Mar-15

Data from CoreLogic shows that some $A13.72bn worth of rural land across Australia changed hands in the year to November 2014. This includes some $A6.27bn worth of farmland in New South Wales, $A3.02bn in Victoria and $A1.3bn in Queensland. Simon McIntyre of Landmark Harcourts notes that there has been an upturn in the rural property market in the last 18 months

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LANDMARK HARCOURTS PTY LTD, BENGERANG LIMITED, TA FIELD ESTATES, DARLING FARMS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY CHOICE PTY LTD

SunRice targets ASX listing for capital

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 5-Mar-15

SunRice Australia’s non-voting shares currently trade on the National Stock Exchange, but the group proposes to shift the B-Class shares to the ASX. Rice growers will continue to be the sole owners of voting stock should the proposal go ahead. Les Gordon, the president of the Ricegrowers Association of Australia, says growers have generally responded positively to the proposal

CORPORATES
SUNRICE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, FONTERRA CO-OPERATIVE GROUP LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, RICEGROWERS’ ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Chinese undeterred by new investment rules

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 4-Mar-15

Geoff Raby & Associates founder Geoff Raby says his firm has received an increase in enquiries from prospective Chinese investors in Australia’s agricultural sector. This includes sectors such as dairy, meat and wheat, and includes both farmland and processing facilities. The Australian Government has proposed new regulations for foreign investors in assets such as farms and housing, including application fees that start from $A5,000

CORPORATES
GEOFF RABY AND ASSOCIATES, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS AND SCIENCES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CBH LIMITED, CO-OPERATIVE BULK HANDLING LIMITED

Dairy float call for Van Diemen’s Land

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 9-Feb-15

Tasmanian Land Company recently launched a takeover bid for Van Diemen’s Land Company (VDL), with the offer pitched at $A2 per share. However, Wilson HTM stockbroker Hugh Robertson believes that the milk producer should be listed on the Australian sharemarket, and says he recently approached VDL with his proposal for an IPO. VDL has a portfolio of 25 dairy farms and a 26,000-strong herd of dairy cows

CORPORATES
VAN DIEMEN’S LAND COMPANY, TASMANIAN LAND COMPANY, WILSON HTM INVESTMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX WIG, BDO AGRICULTURAL SERVICES, BDO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEW PLYMOUTH DISTRICT COUNCIL, TASMAN FARMS PTY LTD, TARANAKI INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CHINA INVESTMENT CORPORATION

Boom times for West’s grain farmers

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Original article by Julie-Anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Jan-15

A grain harvest in 2013-14 of an all-time high 15.9 million tonnes in Western Australia (WA) is being followed by one of 13.5 million tonnes in 2014-15. The good conditions have lifted the incomes of farmers in the Wheatbelt region of the state, who are now servicing their bank debts, acquiring neighbouring properties or investing in new machinery. The producers are also benefiting from the recent drop in the Australian dollar exchange rate, which helps cushion the 12% decline in wheat prices on export markets. The healthy picture is in contrast to that for WA’s iron ore sector, as the mining boom ends

CORPORATES
THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN FARMERS FEDERATION (INCORPORATED), CBH LIMITED, CO-OPERATIVE BULK HANDLING LIMITED, FARMERS CENTRE (KATANNING) PTY LTD

Chinese buyers eyeing food, dairy, says UBS

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Original article by Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 18 : 14-Jan-15

David Chin of UBS expects Chinese companies to become more active in acquiring assets in Australia’s agribusiness sector. Chin notes that the issue of food security is becoming increasingly important in China, which is likely to prompt greater interest in Australia’s food and dairy products sectors, as well as rural properties. Chin also expects Chinese groups to be interested in the privatisation of Queensland and New South Wales electricity assets

CORPORATES
UBS AG, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Cauldron wins access to Forrest cattle run

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 16 : 8-Jan-15

Western Australian (WA) Mines Minister Bill Marmion has approved a request by the Cauldron Energy company, headed by entrepreneur Tony Sage. It will now be able to conduct exploration drilling for uranium on the "Minderoo" cattle station. The WA Mining Warden’s Court recently sided with the land’s owner, Fortescue Metals Group chair Andrew Forrest, in blocking the access. Onslow Resources had previously gained permission, with some conditions attached, to extract mineral sands at "Minderoo"

CORPORATES
CAULDRON ENERGY LIMITED – ASX CXU, ONSLOW RESOURCES LIMITED, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MINDEROO PTY LTD, MINING WARDEN’S COURT (WESTERN AUSTRALIA), WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES AND PETROLEUM