January 25, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Gundaline, one of Australia’s largest irrigated farming assets, has been acquired by international textile manufacturer Zhejiang Sunrise Garment Group for approximately A$120 million (US$85 million) through an expressions-of-interest process handled by LAWD senior director Danny Thomas and director Elizabeth Doyle. 

Located at Carrathool, in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation area of New South Wales, Gundaline comprises about 14,916 hectares (36,858 acres) featuring 6,000 hectares (14,826 acres) of high-quality, flood-irrigated land with secure access to surface and groundwater entitlements, as well as substantial water storage exceeding 17,000 megaliters.

It was back in 2014, when Southern Agricultural Resources Ltd. acquired Gundaline from Twynam Group for approximately A$25 million. Four years later, in 2018, Southern Ag and Blue Sky sold Gundaline to Dutch fund Optifarm for A$65 million. That same year, Optifarm acquired the 13,387-hectare Jemalong Station and the adjacent 361-hectare Jemalong Citrus from Twynam.

Since 2014, when Customized Farm Management (CFM) assumed management of the operation, the property has seen significant development through the expansion of its cotton growing area along with matched expansion of its water storage capacity. 

“When we took over, Gundaline had circa 2,800 hectares of flood irrigation in relatively small fields of around 60 hectares,” explained Andrew Parkes, managing director, CFM. “Between 2014 and 2017, we developed around 3,200 hectares on a much bigger scale – between 180 and 250 hectares per paddock – which has made operations much more efficient.”

“Increased water storage capacity means that both summer and winter crops can be irrigated, which helps increase the carbon that is sequestered in the soil.”

CFM also oversaw the addition of new crops to the cotton operation, including soybeans, wheat, canola, and fava beans. As these crops increase yields each year, there also is another 750 hectares that have been identified as having the potential for intensive horticultural development to produce permanent crops such as pistachios, or citrus. 

“The majority of Gundaline is medium clay soil. We’ve done a lot of work over the years incorporating gypsum and manures to help the plants access a deeper soil profile, which also helps increase water use efficiency,” said Parkes.

“We try to incorporate precision farming elements in everything we do, and we’re now utilizing nutrition and moisture at a depth we haven’t been able to utilize before.”

It is these improvements, infrastructure, and water access that made Gundaline so attractive, and generate such strong interest from international buyers, according to Danny Thomas. 

“Demand was fuelled further by favorable global economic conditions, including current high commodity prices, and with Australia’s exchange rate at sub USD 0.70 our properties are very attractive to overseas buyers.”

Parkes added that the new owners expressed their shared commitment to sustainable agriculture and supporting rural communities with CFM. 

“They’ve made a commitment to supporting local communities and rural life, as well as the current team of staff.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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