December 9, 2021

photo credit: Harvest Road

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Harvest Road, part of Australian mining billionaire Twiggy Forrests’ Tattarang private investment company, has agreed to acquire the iconic 8,000-hectare New Norcia Farm in Western Australia. 

Although a sale price was not disclosed, local reports expected a sale price in excess of A$35 million (US$25 million) for the property. 

The farm was originally established to support Australia’s only monastic town since its establishment by Benedictine monks in 1847. Located on the banks of the Moore River in the Shire of Victoria Plains, the farm is 132 kilometers north of Perth, including 7,975 hectares (19,706 acres) of premium farmland developed over the last century for livestock grazing and cropping (the property includes 3,600 hectares (8,896 acres) in Australia’s Wheatbelt region).

The decision by the monks to sell the historic farm was made earlier this year to pay out settlements associated with claims of child sexual abuse made by Aboriginal people who grew up in the New Norcia orphanage. This resulting deal marks the first time New Norcia would change hands in 175 years, and is subject to approval from the Catholic Church.

In September of this year, New Norcia Abbot John Herbert confirmed to ABC that payments totaling A$10 million (US$7.15 million) had already been paid to abuse survivors, with 20 more outstanding cases to be resolved.  

The transaction does not include the New Norcia townsite, however, the leases in place with local farmers will be honored until they expire in 2023.

The Forrests’ Harvest Road includes Harvey Beef (acquired in 2014) and the A$52 million Koojan Downs, the biggest feeding facility in the state with a capacity for 20,000 head of cattle, in close proximity to New Norcia, which is expected to be completed early next year. The portfolio also includes the Minderoo Station in the Pilbara (established by Forrest’s great-grandfather in 1878), the 273,000-hectare Minilya Station, and the 225,000-hectare Brick House property. These assets, with the addition of New Norcia, are the manifestation of the long-term plans by the Forrests’ to strengthen the region’s beef supply chain. 

“The acquisition of New Norcia Farm is the continuation of our significant investment into the future of Western Australia’s beef industry, and we believe it will play an important part in unlocking the transformational impact of the Koojan Downs Feeding Facility,” said Paul Slaughter, CEO, Harvest Road.

“Together with New Norcia Farm,” he continued, “our network of integrated supply chain assets represents a game changer for WA and a strategic step to mitigate against changing climatic conditions, stabilizing the local beef supply chain and enhancing the local economy through investment and local job creation.”

John Hartman, chief investment officer at Tattarang, noted that Harvest Road was committed to protecting and enhancing the farm’s status as some of the highest quality farmland in the country. 

“We pay tribute to the outstanding stewardship of the Benedictine community that has preserved the exceptional productivity of the land for almost two centuries,” said Hartman, “and we are committed to further developing the Farm’s productive capacity.”

“We know this is an iconic place with an unbroken 175-year agricultural legacy that has helped support generations of regional farming communities,” he continued. “We are committed to investing into New Norcia’s future and we look forward to working with the surrounding shires to create new value for local communities and unlock long-term jobs.”

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor 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 Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.