MANY investors are acquiring a taste for dairy, especially properties in the South East.
Significant deals include Beston Global Food Groups' acquisition of three dairy farms near Mount Gambier, a Chinese company's acquisition of a grazing property for dairy heifers in western Vic, Camperdown Dairies International sealing a deal for a 3000-hectare property near Frances on the Vic border and earlier this year, Midfield Group announcing it would build a dairy processing plant at Penola.
Elders Rural Services branch manager for Mount Gambier and the Lower South East Brett Exelby said enquiries had risen in the past year.
"The interest in the dairy industry has certainly increased in the past 12 months and the investment being made in and around the SE of SA has shown this," he said.
Mr Exelby said he had fielded a range of enquiries, including those from Beston Global Food Company. He had worked with the company to find two of the three dairy properties in the region.
"Their investment into the industry has been a boost for the SA dairy industry," he said.
Other interest has come from New Zealand, with prospective buyers looking for properties that can be converted to a dairy operation.
"The Lower SE climate and soil types, along with the security of underground water, is a perfect match for their production programs," Mr Exelby said.
He said he had also received several calls from people acting on behalf of Asian investors, although the conversations had not yet led to any transactions.
Mr Exelby said there were a range of properties on the market at the moment, either as a walk in-walk out deal, or looking for an equity arrangement to stay on the farm.
Last week, the Tianjin Bright & MengDe Dairy group announced it had bought a 360-hectare grazing property in the south-west of Vic to establish a dairy heifer export facility near Portland.
Chairperson Madam Yu said the acquisition would enable the company, which milks more than 20,000 cows at Tianjin, 130 kilometres south-east of Beijing, to directly control the quality of animals it received.
Sales and marketing director for the Australian arm of Chinese agribusiness marketing and resource company Lets Go, Jason Hellyer, said this first acquisition could be the beginning of more expansion for the company, which could pay off for the SE.
"If there are opportunities across the border and it stacked up, there is every chance the SE could be a target for this particular group," he said.
"Strategically, the areas in the SE of SA and in the south-west of Vic are reasonably ideal."
Mr Hellyer said there was plenty of interest in the dairy industry, and not just from China, although the signing of the Chinese free trade agreement had stimulated some of it.
SA Dairyfarmers Association president David Basham said dairyfarms had become more appealing to buyers in recent times.
"The real interest in dairy began in a strong way following the Saputo and Bega battle for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (in late 2013)," he said.
"There was interest prior to that but this took it to a new level."
Mr Basham said this engagement could be seen at a processor and on-farm level.
"As Midfield looks for expansion at Penola we will see increased demand for milk," he said.
He said investor confidence would hopefully convince dairyfarmers to stay in the industry despite lacklustre milk prices, or even reinvest in their own properties. He said it also provided opportunities to those looking to leave the industry.
"It's been a long while when, if you wanted to sell a farm, you knew you would find a buyer," Mr Basham said.
"If you want to sell a dairy farm, there are buyers out there."
