New Zealand-based farm investment company, MyFarm Investments is reducing its exposure to dairy and diversifying its portfolio in favor of sheep, beef farming operations, and kiwifruit orchards. The company has sold six dairy farms, reducing its dairy assets from 41 farms to 35 operations, while it is planning to increase investments into beef and sheep farm pastures and kiwifruit business.

 

"There's a lot of interest in quality sheep and beef farms and we have a back-log of investors,” said MyFarm executive director, Andrew Watters reports NZ Farmer. “Sheep and beef farms tend to be larger investments." 

 

In addition, the company announced March 2 that it has launched a $5 million kiwifruit orchard syndicate called the Bay Kiwifruit Limited Partnership (BKLP) with the plan to acquire 21 hectares of premium orchard land in the Bay of Plenty for conversion from the Hayward variety to newer kiwifruit varieties. To achieve this goal, MyFarm has partnered with Gro-Plus, the independent orchard management company owned by kiwifruit entrepreneur and angel investor Steve Saunders, which will source and manage the orchards.

 

“When you compare kiwifruit to our traditional land based investments in dairy and sheep and beef it comes out on top for low costs of production, high operating profit margins and the ability to generate cash returns,” says Watters in a company statement.

 

The syndicate will focus on acquiring orchards with the ability to produce 13,000 trays per hectare within three years, in the Tauranga and Te Puke where there is the lowest threat of frost and hail damage.

 

"The cost of production is about 50 per cent in kiwifruit and that is where we were with dairying in the 1990s, but somehow when the price went up, we bought in more food and we have only ended up with a margin of 20-30 percent. and nothing this year, Watters told NZ Farmer.

 

Minimum investment in BKLP will be set at $50,000, with subscriptions closing on April 11.